Mission Improbable
by Paloma Latina
Summary: Alex Rider and Laura Nickleson are too different. Alex is strong and brave, Laura doesn't know how to cross a road. When you place them on a mission, sprinkle in some SAS members, stir in Sabina and add a few crazy extras, you'll end up with a BIG mess.
1. Assassins and Activity

**Disclaimer:** So not mine. My little sister (MentalLady, yes, my siblings are on fanfiction) wrote this first chapter and I've taken over this story for her.

**Reviews from:** None! First chapter so I have no idea!

**A/N:** Okay, first Alex Rider fic. This should be fun. Don't forget to review! Please?

* * *

It was the end of another school day and the students seemed to pile out faster than ever before. Laura Nickleson walked quietly out of the back gate and to the bike shed. Once she reached the iron gates, she saw that her bike wasn't where she left it. It was directly across the shed from where she had affectionately dumped it that morning. She walked over to the bike and bent down to look at the wheels. They had been deflated and a note was stuck to the blue seat. She picked the little envelope up, opening it as she did, and read it quickly.

_I hope you didn't miss me!_

Laura's head snapped up and she quickly looked around. The school was now empty from the 132 students that attended. Then she saw it – the white van. It was only a few meters away and slightly hidden by a bush. She quickly dropped the note and stood up. A strange man walked up to her from behind the car. As he got closer, she recognised his face. He had a knife loosely held in his hand. But _how_ was he back from the dead?

Then Laura was running. All she knew was that if she stopped, it would cost her her life.

* * *

Alex Rider was running at about 16 kilometres per hour on a treadmill at an international spy fitness centre. All the MI6 spies were given a fitness test on a twice yearly basis. Alan Blunt had requested that Alex be put through vigorous training for a month to test his endurance. Blunt had promised that it was 'only for standard information purposes'. But Alex knew he was lying. He would be given another mission.

Alex's whole body ached from running thirty minutes straight at this speed. There was only a small distance left. His legs were clicked into the rhythm of running. If he pressed the stop button, Alex had no doubt he would still keep going.

"Eight meters left," his trainer called.

Tina Sondrea was a cheery lady. She was about six years older than Alex but was a head shorter. Tina had kind hazel eyes and soft brown hair. She smiled at Alex and turned to the wall clock to check the time.

"Finished yet?" panted Alex.

Tina turned back to him and gave him a thoughtful look. She peered at the screen on the brand new treadmill and checked the information.

"Just a few more steps... and... stop!"

Tina pushed a read button and the machine slowed. Alex jumped off and took a few large steps to a squishy armchair nearby. He really needed rest. Tina recorded the results on a clipboard and turned her attention back to the exhausted boy.

"You should probably sleep it all off. You'll need to take these to prevent pain," she handed him a bottle of pills. "And you'll need twelve hours sleep at the most. Any more and your mussels will relapse. I'll drive you home; you can't walk in this condition."

Alex was too exhausted to protest. His lungs ached from all the heavy breathing and could barely talk. A few minutes later, he was sitting in the passenger seat of a BMW. It was black with leather interior and _very_ swish. The vehicle held a strong smell of newness. About ten minutes later, they pulled up at the front of the Rider house.

"There you are. You missed dinner!" a voice called from the front door.

Jack Starbright was Alex's guardian. She was the caretaker of the Rider household before Ian Rider – Alex's uncle – died. Her red, curly hair bounced around her face as she ran to give Alex a hug. She wasn't normally that affectionate but lately she had been worried about Alex. His frequent missing episodes – which were really just his training lessons – made her reach the edge. She sent him inside and chatted to Tina for a while.

Half an hour later, Alex was showered, fed and in bed. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

Laura had been running for a while now and the assassin was still following her. Laura looked over her shoulder at him. He was tall, but badly built. He had an unusual facial expression and looked like a fish out of water as he ran. He was disgustingly ugly and his clothes made it so much worse. _Yuck_!

Laura turned around what felt like the hundredth corner and made the final sprint to the A.S.I.O. headquarters. Her body was aching but the pain was so intense she could barely feel it. She barged through a group of young children and dove through the door. Guards rushed over to her with their guns loaded. As the assassin walked in – he was sure never to walk out.

She shut her eyes tight as she heard a bang followed by a sickening thud.

* * *

Laura Nickleson was a short, 15 year-old. She had dirty blonde hair, pale blue eyes, and a unusually dark tan. She was probably an attractive person if she bothered to even do the little things like scrub the dirt out from under her nails, or brush her hair properly or stop wearing her best boy friend's clothes.

Laura had lived in the rural areas of Australia for her whole life. Not the type of country land that was so deserted that there was only one person per square kilometres, but the type where only a few children lived. The people of this town called it Cootamundra Valley but it really was Cootamundra Rural Town of Peace. Obviously, this was _way_ too long.

Laura's mother had died when she was young and her father had mysteriously gone missing a few months later. Laura didn't care much. She had never known her parents and her foster parents were always away. Laura wasn't the type to care about much these days. She was raised by an old, retired karate teacher who was slowly going blind and death. Perfect government spy material.

Laura Nickleson wasn't your everyday teenager. She was different from all the others. She was a spy. Not your usual James Bond spy, but a sneaky one. She broke codes, spoke ten different languages and was an information retriever. She would creep into buildings and break files – if she was caught by a guard, let's just say she got off on the better side.

Laura had missed out on a lot of things that most normal teenagers had. Like parents, proper schooling, the opportunity to do sport outside school, and even the chance to make friends over a longer period of time.

This better be worth it! – thought Laura.

Laura was peacefully back at her foster parent's home, sleeping, when the phone rang.

"Hello?" she asked groggily, trying to open her eyes.

"Is this Laura Nickleson?" It was a British accented man.

"Yes?" she said, sitting up.

"We need to talk."

* * *

(_Last edited: June 29, 2007 by RG_)

**A/N:** Yes, I know it is a bit short but I haven't yet gotten the jist of writing and I actually didn't write this one. I will update as soon as I can!

RG

xox


	2. Planes and Pills

**Disclaimer:** I wrote this chapter. I don't own anything you may recognise, just Laura and a few others.

**Reviews from:** Aden Gebrehiwet, anonymous, Unheard Battle Cry, LadyJanet009, Greggy Is Mine!, Queen Biatch and SharkiesGirl.

**A/N:** Whee! 7 reviews! Hooray! This is my first chapter. MentalLady told me where she wants the story to go and I must say it will be interesting. So, read on!

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The view was magnificent. Laura was flying over Sydney. She lived out in the country and she had never seen the city properly. She had been told by a man that she needed to flee countries. Glen Hunt? No. Baldwin Shunt? Yeah. That was it. She hoped. Apparently an assassin had avoided the death penalty and was now after her for getting him in trouble. But, the problem was that she hadn't done it. It was somebody else but the assassin had gotten the facts wrong. This man, Baldwin Shunt, was an important person at MI6 and she would remain safe under his watch.

"Would you like some food, Miss?" asked a hostess with a British accent.

She was very pretty. She had long brown hair, clear brown eyes and the perfect nose. They were halfway to London and most of the passengers were already eating. Laura wasn't hungry though. She was very thirsty.

"Umm...may I just have some water, please?"

She nodded and walked away, picking up a toy for a little boy across the isle. Laura turned to the lady next to her. She was old and frail. The lady looked very tired.

"Would you like the window seat?" Laura offered.

The lady smiled. "No, you haven't flown before and I make this trip every month. You have it, deary."

Laura smiled back. The lady was very nice and looked like she always had a compliment at hand. Laura had grown up around mean boys and her only friend had been Timothy. She lived in a town where she was the only girl and didn't have much of a social life. She needed a change.

"Thank you," Laura said as the nice hostess gave her a glass of water and gave the old lady a bowl of mash potatoes and a large steak. The hostess only looked about twenty and seemed to love children. She crouched down and helped a little boy write his name on the bottom of his picture. Laura smiled to herself. If everybody in the world was like that, everything would be almost perfect.

The plane made two short stops for fuel and took off again. Laura was very nervous and fell asleep out of exhaustion. She woke up to the sound of a baby crying and cursed the child in her head for the next forty minutes.

A few hours later, the plane landed and they all filed out into the airport. Laura was very nervous and kept trying to remember the name of the man who was supposed to meet her. Baldwin Shunt just didn't seem right, but it was the best she had. She stepped off the plane and out into the dark air. She walked inside and checked the time. It was around midnight.

"Can I help you, Miss?"

The voice was very British. Laura turned to find a middle-aged man wearing an airport uniform with a vaguely familiar badge on his left pocket. She smiled at him.

"Yes, please. I have just arrived from Sydney and I am supposed to meet somebody soon. I think his name is Baldwin Shunt."

"Hmm...Oh yes. Your name is Laura Nickleson, right?"

"Yes."

"Follow me. He has a car waiting for you."

Laura grabbed her luggage from the conveyer belt and hurried after the man. He led her around a big café section and out onto the street. Parked on the road was a large limo-like, black car with a very official man sitting in the front. Another man was waiting by the door and when Laura and the man stepped out into the cold night air, he opened the car door and took Laura's luggage from her. He popped open the boot and neatly placed it inside.

"Hop in, Miss. We don't have all day." Laura had to hold back a laugh. His accent was very different to the ones she was used to. She jumped into the car and made herself comfortable. The car was leather on the inside and Laura was very excited. The only vehicles she had been in were her foster father's red, rusty Ute and the pollution-filled school bus.

About fifteen minutes later, the car pulled up outside a large bank building and Laura's door opened. She stepped out, thanked the man – who was holding the doors open – and grabbed her luggage. They trio entered the building and walked into the foyer. An aged, tired woman was at the front desk, only looking up from her papers once the group was practically sitting on top of her desk.

"Good evening, Stuckey, Daryl, Nickleson."

_How does she know my name?_ Laura thought.

After the adults had a brief conversation, Laura wasn't paying attention, the lady motioned for the two men to accompany her up an elevator and into an empty office. They left her there by herself. She sat on one of the two chairs out the front of a boring desk and waited silently for somebody to turn up. She was wide awake now, although it was past midnight. Everybody else she had seen either looked drowsy or like they had had a bit too much coffee.

"Good evening, Miss Nickleson."

Laura turned toward where the voice had come from. Another lady was standing at the doorway holding a bunch of files. She walked into the room and sat on the chair next to Laura.

"Welcome to England."

Laura nodded. This lady was very stern and looked like long ago she had given up hope. It was all very new to Laura, who was surrounded by country folk up until now.

"My name is Mrs Jones. I will help you become acquainted with your new partner."

"Partner?"

Mrs Jones' face fell. "He didn't tell you about your mission?"

Laura shook her head. Mrs Jones sighed and pulled out one of the many files she had resting on her lap. "Have you every heard of MI6 before?" Laura shook her head. "Have you ever heard of the man you talked on the phone too before now?" She shook her head, again. "Do you know anything about why you are here?"

Laura nodded. "Some assassin is after me."

Mrs Jones sighed again and muttered something about child slavery. Laura was startled but didn't say anything. "Well, apart from being in fatal danger, you were also sent here to be on a mission." Laura just sat there. "You will meet your partner tomorrow. For now, you will stay with a man who has agreed to look after you. He is a member of the SAS and will protect you from any harm. We will fetch you in the morning to explain the mission more clearly."

She stood up and Laura followed. They silently walked back to the elevator where the two men were waiting.

"Good night, Laura. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

* * *

Alex woke up in the dark from the sound of the phone ringing. He reached over to check his watch and noticed it was about four in the morning. He didn't know of anybody who would ring that late – or early. He stood up and walked over to the bathroom across the hall. He stood on the cold tiles for about five minutes in a sleepy state before realising he wasn't moving. He came to his senses and jumped in the shower. Once he had finished in the shower and was properly dressed, Alex made his way down to the kitchen.

Jack was sitting at the table crying. She turned away from him and wiped a tear away before facing him again.

"What's up?" Alex asked. He silently cursed himself for asking. He and Jack were close, but not to the extent that they shared everything. He wasn't sure of her reaction.

"It's nothing," she answered. "Get a good sleep?" she asked, cheering up slightly.

Alex nodded and got himself a glass of water. Jack continued to watch him as he cleared the fridge by devouring its contents. Running works up an appetite. Just as he was about to attack his bowl of soup from two nights ago, Jack said something unexpected.

"Mr Blunt called," she said miserably.

Alex dropped his spoon and stared at her. Mr Blunt didn't call people; he paid people to do it for him.

"Well, Mrs Jones did anyway."

Oh.

"What did they want?" he asked bitterly.

"You have a new mission. Apparently it is a very simple and safe one. They want to meet you at the Royal and General at ten. They said the job would be local."

"It better finish soon because school starts."

Alex attended Brookland School. He hadn't been back in over half a year and had a lot of work to catch up on. Once, when he was bored, he wrote a list of all the time he had been away. Apparently, he had missed about one of the four years he had attended the senior section of the school. School would be back in soon – two weeks. He had only one friend – Tom – and the school population had labelled him a drug-dealer.

"So you are taking the job?"

"Guess so." He picked his spoon back up.

Jack sighed. "Then I guess I should tell you why I was crying." Alex didn't say anything, he just ate.

"My mother has just died and I want to make amends with my father who I haven't spoken to since I was a little girl. I was going to take you to America with me, but I can't now. I'll have to stay back." Alex stopped.

"I'm sorry," he said. "You can still go. I'll stay here. MI6 is bound to find me somewhere to stay."

"Alex, they will probably just tell you to stay here and blackmail me into staying too."

"I'll just say I'm not doing the mission unless they give me a place to stay."

She smiled at him. Although she hadn't talked to her father since her eighth birthday party, her father meant a lot to her. She was lucky to have him. Jack gave Alex some sleeping pills and sent him off to bed again. She went to bed to get some sleep. After all, she would need to pack the next morning.

* * *

_(Last edited: 30__th__ June, 2007 by RG. The chapters get longer! Promise!)_

**A/N:** How did it go? Are you gonna review? Please?

RG

xox


	3. Caregivers and Cars

**Hey. Yes, this is the new chapter. I wrote it because I was bored and my holidays have just started. TWO WEEKS WORTH OF UPDATES ALL IN THREE DAYS! Hooray. Anyway, I really need those reviews. Please?**

* * *

When Laura hoped in a different car outside the bank building, she felt a wave of insecurity sweep over her. She had no idea where she was going, she didn't know any of these people, and she had just flown over to London for goodness sake. But the worst part of it all, was that she was going to stay at a strange mans house. She was nervous.

"Umm...Sir?" Laura asked the man driving. He peered at her through the reverse mirror, looking back at the road every few seconds. "Where exactly am I going?"

"Well, Miss, I'm taking you to your new caregiver's house."

"So I am going to stay with him forever?"

"No, Miss. Just for now."

Laura sat back in her seat. This car was a different one to the first. I had a homier feel to it. Laura started to imagine what the man would look like. By the time they pulled up out the front – ten minutes later – of an apartment block, she had decided that he really was just an old man with a crazy amount of cats and who drunk tea all to often. It stuck in her mind as they climbed the stairs. She had offered to take her own bags but the driver had disagreed and was now dragging it behind him.

"Fair dinkum, they actually have stairs."

"Why wouldn't they?" asked the driver.

"I'm sorry. I've only ever seen stairs a few times before. This is amazing. And I hadn't seen buildings this tall except when I flew over Sydney. I can't believe I've never seen the city before. I mean. I had no idea they actually have escalators and elevators. I mean, I thought it was only in movies. Like..." Laura realised she was prattling and stopped talking as they reached a door.

"Ready, Miss?" He seemed amused by how little Laura knew about cities.

_No._

"Yeah."

The driver reached out a hand and knocked on the wood beside the door frame. Laura didn't think she could actually call it wood. The whole place looked like overly-clean plastic. Number 23. That was the apartment number at the top of the door. She heard some footsteps and the sound of a lock being clicked. The door swung open.

"Good evening, sir," said the driver. "I'm just dropping Miss Nickleson over."

"It is more of a morning, but, whatever."

The man who had come to the door was not what Laura had imagined (old and catty). He was in fact completely different. He was tall, young and looked more like a dog person. A bear person, even. He looked very dangerous and strong - the type of person that could kill with one punch. Laura was used to this kind of strength, though. She had, after all, lived out in the country with farmers and they needed muscles to live.

What scared her the most, however, was how cold he looked. Not the "freezing" cold, but the "I've been through too much" cold. She hadn't seen that in anybody before. He had brown scruffy hair, sharp blue eyes and a killer smile.

"Mr Smith, meet Laura. Laura, meet Mr Smith," said the driver.

The two strangers shook hands. Very quickly.

"You can call me Jackson," said the young man.

Laura nodded and remained quiet. She was still very nervous. The driver handed her her luggage and said something about needing to be somewhere. He said a quick goodbye to Laura and Jackson before trotting down the stairs four at a time. Laura wished she could do that.

"Well, come on in," said Jackson, walking inside with her luggage.

Laura carefully stepped inside and looked around. It was a rather large apartment and was in a very big mess. Things were everywhere. Files, clothes, food packets, shoes and cushions were all over the place. The front door was right next to the kitchen and she could see the kitchen bench covered with unpacked groceries.

"Your room is this way."

Laura followed Jackson down the hall and into a bedroom off to the right. Jackson turned the light on and put her bags in the white wardrobe. The room was square and neat. The walls were a soft pink and the sheets on the bed matched. She smiled to herself and sat on the bed. There was a white desk on the other side of the room and the large wardrobe covered the whole other wall. Laura loved it! She was used to sharing with three other little foster kids who smelt really bad.

"We've just moved in. Nobody wanted the pink room so you got it," said Jackson, leaning against the door frame.

"Who's _we_?" Laura asked, curious.

"Oh." Jackson smiled. "Me and my mate, Jamie. We share this apartment. We are on the same SAS team. He's great, he'll be back from work soon if you want to meet him. I stayed home so I could greet you. It's probably no fun not having a welcoming committee when you have just come from a different country. Plus, it means he has to stay late and do extra filing."

Laura smiled. She couldn't tell wether it was more from his kindness or because his accent was funny. Jackson left her to get settled while he went to go get them something to eat. Laura hadn't eaten yet. She emptied her clothes out into the drawers and stacked her school books on the desk. She wasn't sure what school she would be attending but she packed them anyway.

"Wolf, mate." Jackson's voice was coming from near the door.

"How are ya, Eagle?" This time it was a new voice. A deep rumbling one.

Laura walked out to the kitchen again. Another man, probably the same age as Jackson, was telling Jackson about some new terrorist attack and had his back to Laura. She was very confused about the funny animal names they were calling each other. She just guessed it was some weird English thing.

"Wolf, this is Laura. Laura, this is Wolf. Call him Jamsie-poo. He hates it."

"Thanks mate," Wolf said sarcastically and turned to Laura. "Hey, Laura. My names Jamie. Feel free to call me anything you want. Don't let butt-heads like Jackson tell you what to do." He glared at Jackson and continued pulling his shoes off.

"Why did you call each other Wolf and Eagle?" Laura asked, feeling very brave.

"SAS code names. We use them out on the field so we can't be traced by our real names. We get so used to it we don't address each other properly any more," said Jackson, pulling something out of the freezer. "Actually, call us by those names. We'll find one for you so you don't get left out."

They all sat down at the kitchen table ready to eat. Laura moved some of the files away neatly so her plate would fit down on the table but the men just pushed it all onto the floor, adding to the mess.

"We are having lasagne again, aren't we?" Wolf asked Eagle sadly.

He nodded and passes three plates around to the others. Laura ate hers with amazing speed. She was starving. Once she was done, she carried her plate to the sink and started washing it up.

"You don't need to do that," Wolf said, taking his plate over.

"Yeah, I do," Laura said, adding more detergent. "I do it all the time at home so why shouldn't I now?"

The boys looked thoughtful. "Because you are in a new home and you are a guest, not a slave," Eagle said.

Laura laughed. "I'm too used to it now, you can't stop me."

Once all the cleaning was done. They stocked all went to bed. They were only allowed a few hours sleep before they had to get up again. Laura brushed her teeth first and was asleep the fastest. She had a big day ahead.

* * *

When Laura woke up, it was dark. She stood up and ripped open her blinds. The bright sunlight shone into her eyes and she had to shut them again.

_Stupid sunshine_, she thought.

Laura was a morning person but she definitely wasn't used to England sun. The Australian sunshine would be down one minute and the next it would be shining high in the sky. The sun in England just made its way slowly through the sky – at the right angle to shine in your eyes.

Laura slowly walked to the bathroom. She listened carefully at the door to check nobody was already in there. Walking in on Wolf or Eagle would not be very pleasant on her first day. She couldn't hear anything so she slowly opened the door. There weren't any clothes on the floor so she stepped inside. The coast was clear. She managed to turn the taps on and have a reasonably quick shower before jumping out and getting dressed. Today, she managed to actually try and look nice for a change. Still, she looked pretty daggy.

Laura walked into the kitchen and looked into the fridge – empty. She closed it and walked back to her bedroom. She pulled out a chocolate bar from her backpack and stuffed it in her mouth. Her favourite types of chocolate were the Freddos with mint filling and Chomp bars. Yum. Once she had eaten it, Laura decided she would go for a walk. She searched her room for a piece of paper and a pen.

_Wolf and Eagle,_

_I've just gone for a walk, I'll be back soon._

_Laura._

She stuck the note on the fridge with an old Plummer's Electricity magnet and walked out. She didn't have a key and she was silently wishing somebody would be home when she got back. She played around on the stairs for a while. Ever since she was a little girl she had wanted stairs in her house. Her wish came true. Once she was done, she walked out into the cold air. She instantly froze and wrapped her arms around herself. The temperature was a good twenty degrees colder than what she was used to.

"Good morning, Miss." Laura turned to the voice. It was the driver from the night – or morning – before. She smiled and walked over to him. When she got closer, she realised he was a lot younger than she had first thought. "How are you today?"

"Tired."

"Same. Mrs Jones has a meeting planned for you. Hop in."

Laura slid into the back seat and closed the door. She put her seatbelt on and made herself comfortable. The driver had just put the car in ignition when Laura realised something. She hadn't told Wolf and Eagle where she was going.

"Umm...sir?"

"Please, call me Lionel."

"Okay, Lionel. I haven't told my new caregivers that I've left."

He thought for a moment. "Well, I'll ask somebody to ring them when we get to the headquarters."

Laura nodded and looked out the window. There were teenagers everywhere. Girls too. She couldn't wait to make new friends. She missed Timothy, though. She missed playing in the creek and all their running races. He was the only person she told about her _hobby_. That was what she called it. They would ship her over to deserted little places that evil organisations could set up and she had the job of either distracting them or breaking in to get small files. Nothing major. Nothing like James Bond.

Lionel pulled up out the front and opened the car door. Laura thought it was very fun to have somebody open and close doors for you all day. No more jamming your hands in the door, no more splinters. But it would be dreadfully boring. They walked to the front desk and the same lady was sitting at the computer. She nodded her head and they headed up to the office again.

When they got there, the two chairs were still at the front, only this time there was a boy sitting in one of them. He glared at her before turning away. Laura wasn't sure what she had done wrong, but she had a feeling it wasn't really her fault. It was MI6's fault. She sat down on the empty chair and looked at the boy. She didn't know it was rude to stare – she hadn't learnt much from her foster parents because they were so busy all the time.

The boy was half a head taller than her and looked very clean. He had messy blonde hair, cold eyes – like Eagle's – and looked like had been through more than anyone in a very short time. He also looked like he had been doing a lot of running lately. Mrs Jones walked in and their heads both snapped toward her.

"Good morning, Laura, Alex."

* * *

**I thought I would cut it off there because the next chapter is explaining the mission. How is it going so far? Who wants to see something interesting happen? Who wants to know what happens next? Just review and you'll receive some classified information. Promise.**

**RG**


	4. Missions and Madness

**Okay, dudes. From now on (just one half of this chapter, really) I am writing in perspective of the characters. I am finding it a bit difficult to not. Plus, it will give you the inner workings of their mind. Like we are evil geniuses or something. We are, though. I am clearly labelling the perspective, okay? So, yeah. Anyway, thanks to my reviewers. You rule.**

**Before I forget, I am writing what Laura is saying the way she pronounces it. You might need to say it out loud to read it.**

* * *

**Mrs Jones' POV.**

I walked over to the kids and handed them each a file. They gave me weird looks before flipping through them. I felt really bad about sending them both on a mission. Alex had been through too much and I didn't want him getting hurt. After just having my own kids, I felt more of a responsibility towards his health. Laura had just been attacked by an assassin. Why Blunt is making her agree to this, I'll never know.

But what is really worrying me, is how they are going to mesh. Don't get me wrong, they are both great kids, but I know they will make it harder for themselves by hating each other. They just seem like their personalities are going to clash and it will all be mayhem and the real job won't get done.

They were staring at me. "Alex, this is Laura. Laura this is Alex." All they did was maintain eye-contact for a few seconds. This is not going well. Time to jump straight into it.

"Why are we here?" Alex asked.

"You are being put on a mission together." They both looked ready to protest. "Don't get me wrong, I don't think either of you _need _a partner, as such, but this particular mission is a two man job."

"Then why couldn't I just have a male partner?" I don't think Alex wants to work with girls. He probably thinks she'll get in the way. Typical teenage male, that one.

"Well, it is a one man, one woman job, actually." They look confused. "Well you see, we have reason to believe somebody is up to no good and we need a male and a female."

"Why?" Let me start again.

"Okay, so you two have been brought here for one reason – to get behind enemy lines. The enemy is Mr Rogers. He owns a building company and things have been happening around his sites. As you know, Alex, we don't believe in coincidence. So, we have devised a plan to get to his secret files. Laura, I know that is your expertise. We need you two to get a hold of these by getting close to his twins – Joseph and Josephina." Laura stifled a laugh. "Luckily, they have just started at a new school and you can attend by being masters of disguise. Alex, this is your kind of thing."

"So, we just have to be friends with these kids?" Alex asked.

"Well, you have to get closer than that."

"Best friends?"

"Not really..."

"Travel buddies?"

"A bit closer..." Then it hit them. It was like a tsunami had washed over their faces. They changed from confusion to horror then back to confusion.

"_What?_" Alex yelled.

I knew it.

* * *

**Alex's POV. **

"_What?_" I yelled.

This wasn't what I wanted. I wanted something fun, something exciting or something..._other than that_. First I had a partner and then I had some crazy girl, now I have to get close to an enemy. This was a bad day. Mrs Jones frowned and gave us an apologetic look. She was about to say something when Alan Blunt walked in. He was in his grey suit and a dull blue tie. One day, I am going to ask one of the girls at school to give him a makeover in exchange that I will do one mission. That is gonna be fun to watch.

"Good day, Rider, Nickleson."

"Gid'ay," said Laura. It was the first time she had spoken since the meeting started. She had a strong Australian accent. I didn't know she was from Australia. I thought she was British. I opened the file and took a peek at her records. Yep, Australian. This was very weird.

* * *

**Nobody's POV. (I'm getting bored with it already)**

Blunt sat down at his desk and looked at his youngest spy and his new recruit. They looked horrified about something so he assumed that Mrs Jones, his assistant, had informed them of the mission. Both the spies were staring at him. Laura out of interest, but Alex out of spite. He shuffled some papers on his desk and looked back up at them.

"I believe you know your mission?"

They nodded but Laura asked a question. "Err, what school will we be goin' to exactly?" Her accent rang around the room.

"Brookland."

Alex almost fell off his chair. "That is my school!" Blunt nodded. "But, won't they know who I am?"

"Exactly. We have bugged your school for the last term." Alex looked shocked. "We have received a lot of information, both about their views on you and on the twins."

"So, you want us to get close to these...people?" Laura asked.

"Yes. You need to get close enough that they won't suspect something is up and that they will invite you into their home where you can snoop around."

"How are we going to get close?"

"We have noticed that they get jealous very easily. So, all you will need to do is gain popularity and make them jealous of you. That means you two will pose as... together." Blunt didn't know how to put the last part seeing as the slang changed all the time with teenagers. He thought so anyway.

"This is mad,' Laura said, shaking her head. "I don't think I can do it."

"You will, Laura. It is very simple." Mrs Jones came to the rescue. "You just need to pretend."

"Pretend?" Mrs Jones nodded.

"That is cleared up, you may go see Smithers."

Laura got up to go but Alex stayed seated. "I need somewhere to stay if I am accepting this mission. Jack is going away." Blunt's head snapped up to look at him from where it was down by his paper.

"You'll be staying with Laura. I thought Mrs Jones told you that."

Alex shook his head and stood up. He followed Laura out of the door and down a passageway. Alex was about to turn when he realised Laura was still walking forward. "Um, where are you going?'

Laura turned to face him. "Smithers."

"His office is this way is this way."

"Oh." Laura quickly turned back and followed Alex to the elevator. When they were safely inside, she turned to face him. "Who was that man?"

Alex stopped staring at the buttons and gave her a questioning look. "Alan Blunt."

"Then where was Baldwin Shunt?"

Alex stepped out of the elevator as it dinged open and kept walking. Laura had a lot to learn. She jogged after him, gazing around like she was on a different planet. Alex led her through some more corridors and into an office. Sitting at the desk was a large man.

"Alex!" Smithers stood up and waddled to the teenagers. "And who might this be?"

"Laura Nickleson, pleased to meet you." Laura shook his hand, smiling.

"Well, I have some gadgets for you. This mission isn't as fun as all the others so there isn't much to do. Thi-"

"We get gadgets?" Laura interrupted.

"Yes, of course," Smithers said, surprised. "This one is just a normal MP3 player, but if you press the pause button for three seconds..." He held the small button down. A puff of pink came out. "...a perfume for the lady." He handed it to Laura. She beamed.

"Now, Alex, I don't have anything for you at the moment. Most of the gadgets are needed for when you are invited to stay. You will be given them further along."

Alex was very disappointed. The new girl was getting everything and he had nothing. Whatever happened to the best kid spy? Had Blunt forgotten about him? Alex silently made a pact in his head.

He was going to make Nickleson's life a living Hell.

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**Okay, that is the next chapter up. Next chapter will be a bit more on Laura. She aint the best but she'll play a big part in this fic. Alex will remain da bomb, though! Reviews will make me update faster. Hint.**

**RG xoxoxoxox **


	5. Staring and Saving

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Alex and Laura left the bank building silently after their meeting with Smithers. Alex was still mad and Laura was still clueless. Smithers had given her a few more gadgets before they left. Once they stepped outside, Lionel greeted them.

"Evening, Laura. Who might this be?"

"Hey, Lionel. This is Alex. We are going to be working together. We get this really cool mi-"

She was cut off by Alex putting a hand over her mouth. "Are you trying to get us discovered?" he hissed. Laura shook her head. He dropped his hand and sighed. "Have you ever been in the city before, Nickleson?'

"No. I've never been up stairs before coming here either."

Alex sighed, again. Laura said goodbye to Lionel and they walked to a café a few shops down from the bank. Laura was looking around the whole time. Alex watched her for a while until the waiter took his order.

"A white chocolate mocha and a garden salad, please."

"And for the lady?" the waiter asked.

"Oh, I'll have one of those too."

The man walked away after staring at Laura for a few moments and Laura started staring at Alex. "Quit staring!" he hissed after about three minutes of neither of them blinking.

"Why?" she asked, scrunching her face up.

"Because it is rude."

"How?"

"It shows a sign of disrespect."

"Really?"

Alex decided not to answer. Laura was getting on his nerves. He had never seen a girl like her before. She wore scruffy jeans, a navy blue hoody that drowned her, she didn't have her blonde hair combed and it seemed like she had never left a house before. Most of the girls Alex saw took little things like going to the corner shop a fashion statement. He was very curious.

"Why don't you brush your hair?" he asked.

"Why do _you_?" was the reply.

He knew they were being childish. Laura knew too, but they still continued.

"Why don't you know any manners?"

"Why _should_ I?"

"Why don't you get gadgets?"

"What do I _need_ them for?"

"Why do you were male clothing?"

"Why do you?"

That was probably the lamest comeback he had ever heard and he had heard some bad ones in his day. He decided to stop it there. Laura started staring at a rich-looking lady at the table next to them. The lady caught her eye but Laura didn't look away. They stared at each other for a while before Laura pretended to stick her finger up her nose and the lady left immediately. Laura started laughing like a cockatoo as the woman walked away. Soon, all the café's attention was on her.

"Nickleson! Stop it!" She stopped and shrugged. The waiter brought their meal over and Alex dug in. Laura peered at her food like it was about to jump out at her. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"What is this?" she asked, poking at a bit of food.

"It's a type of cheese. Now eat it."

Laura ripped through her meal quicker than Alex had ever seen anyone eat. It seemed to Alex that she would trust and obey anyone she met. Alex didn't like it. Once they had finished, Alex threw some money down on the table and he left. They walked back over to the bank and sat down on a bench.

"What should we do now?" Laura asked eagerly.

"I need to get my stuff and go back to where you are staying. Who are you staying with, anyway?"

Laura thought for a second. "You know, I forget their names."

_Great_, Alex thought. He stood back up and walked over to a set of deserted traffic lights further around the block. Laura followed. He stood near the crossing and turned to look at a bright blue advertisement when he heard brakes skid. He snapped around just in time to see Laura standing in the middle of the road, a car heading right for her.

"Laura!" he yelled. She turned to face him. Before he knew it, Alex had dived on top of her and knocked her out of the way. The car drove away and the road was left empty again. Alex slowly looked up to see Lionel sprinting towards them.

"Laura, Alex, are you okay?"

Alex rolled off her and lay down for a moment. All the running he had done lately certainly helped. Laura was very still and he wasn't sure if she had been knocked out or not. Lionel bent down next to her and started asking her little questions. She seemed to have had a bad bump to the head.

"Laura, what is your last name?" Lionel asked.

"Nickleson?" she moaned, turning over onto her back.

Alex slowly stood up and took Laura in his arms. Cars were starting to appear from a green light. They walked back over to the bench and Alex laid her on it. Her head was bleeding slowly and her eyes were flicking shut. Alex had had enough of looking after the girl. He left Lionel with Laura and stormed back up to Blunt's office. Nobody stopped him.

"Alex?" Blunt asked when the spy threw the door open and nearly off its hinges. Mrs Jones was unwrapping a peppermint and popping it into her mouth.

"I can't look after Nickleson!" he yelled.

Blunt remained emotionless. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying," Alex said impatiently, "Only a few seconds ago I knocked her out of the way of a speeding car."

Mrs Jones stopped sucking on her mint and gasped. "Is she okay? Where is she?"

"She is fine. But I just want to say, I can't keep doing this. Had I of turned a second later, we would both be in black body bags right now."

Blunt and Mrs Jones shared a meaningful glance before asking Alex to sit down. Once he had, they started telling him about Laura and the assassin.

"So you are saying, Laura is being hunted down?"

Blunt nodded. "That is one of the reasons why we put her with you. There are many girls who would do the job well without asking questions. We chose her so you could protect her from this man."

"So I am a bodyguard now?" Blunt nodded again.

"Yes Alex. But please understand, she doesn't have a family, she has no friends, she knows nothing about life in general. You will have to be patient with her."

Alex stood up and left without a word. MI6 had asked him to do crazy things in the past, but nothing like raising a teenager.

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**I thought I would stop it there. I know my writing has been a bit crap, but I would still love review. Flamers or not. I don't mind. Who thinks they know what is going to happen next? It is easy to figure out though.**

**NO! THEY WILL NOT BE MAKING OUT IN A CAR, MARY! Crazy weirdo.**

**Next Chapter: Alex meets his new guardians (for the time being). Who is excited? I am!**


	6. Boyfriends and Blood

**Okay, here it is. It is my sixth chapter in three days. I am proud. This might be the first fic I ever finish. That would be something special. I'd like to thank my reviewers. You guys are awesome. Mary, you need a new brain. I've been pretty clever thinking of chapter names, haven't I? I sit down for a good three minutes to think of them.

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"Bye, Jack. Have a great time."

"You too, Alex. Stay safe and call whenever you need me to come back."

"I will, Jack." Yeah, as if.

Alex and Laura were given a lift to his place from Lionel and Alex had just finished packing his clothes. The whole time, Laura was running up and down the stairs, holding an ice pack to her head. Jack found it quite amusing. Laura just loved stairs.

"Come on Alex!" Laura yelled from the bottom of the stairs. "Let's have a race."

Alex gave Lionel his luggage and walked back over to Laura. They lined up at the bottom of the stairs and counted down to three. Alex took the stairs three at a time in long strides while Laura went one step at a time as quickly as she could. It was a dead tie.

"Oh well," Laura said, walking back to the bottom. "I'll win next time."

They sat in the car and drove off, Jack waving the whole time. She still had twenty minutes until her taxi turned up. The drive over was rather quiet. Lionel kept asking Laura if she was okay. She just smiled and nodded. When they pulled up out the front of their _new home for a few months_, they both felt nerves flow through them.

Alex was worried about who they would be. Laura was worried that nobody would be home. Lionel took the luggage out of the boot and they walked into the building. Laura came up with an idea.

"Let's have a race. We will race up to the door and the first person there gets to boss the other around for a whole hour. Room 23," Alex didn't like the sound of that. He wouldn't know what he would have to do if Laura won, but he was quietly confident he would win. "Okay?" He nodded. "Go!"

The kids took giant steps up 16 flights of stairs. In the end, Alex beat Laura by half a flight. She was puffing like mad. She was still out of breath when Lionel arrived with Alex's luggage. Alex didn't struggle at all. The running had come in use for a second time that day.

"Do you have a key, Miss?" Lionel asked Laura.

She shook her head and bashed on the door. No body answered. She kept bashing until her hand started to turn red. She slid down onto the floor and pouted. It was a very cute pout. Lionel was about to suggest they leave when the door swung open.

"You?" Laura asked.

A tall, brunette lady was standing by the doorway. She had clear brown eyes and a kind smile. "Me!" she said. "How was your flight?"

Alex was confused. Probably the most confused he has ever been in his life. Laura knocks on the door and asks the person who they are and then they are talking like they hadn't seen each other since a flight. It was enough to make anybody confused.

"It was great, thanks. Um, my name is Laura and this is Alex. We are staying here."

"Oh. Err, come in."

Laura stepped through rather confidently, pulling Alex by the hand after her. "Don't be scared," she whispered. Alex? Scared? Ha! If only she knew what he had been through. Or, you could say, what MI6 _put_ him through. They walked in and Lionel placed the luggage in the foyer before leaving again.

"My name is Jasmine, by the way," the lady said.

"So what are you doing here?" Laura asked.

"Jackson is my boyfriend!" she said, smiling.

"Yeah, that's one of their names," Laura said, turning to Alex and pushing her hair out of her face. Her cut was in full view and looked very bad.

Jasmine gasped. "What happened?" she asked, grabbing an ice pack from the freezer and holding it onto Laura's head.

"Oh, that!" Laura laughed. "I walked in front of a car and Alex pushed me out of the way. He is a hero, you know." This made Alex go red.

"How did you manage to walk in front of a car?" Jasmine asked Laura.

"I just crossed the road and it came from nowhere," she answered.

Jasmine sent her off to the bathroom to wash the blood off her face. When she was gone, Jasmine turned to face Alex. "What really happened?"

Alex wasn't sure how to answer. "Well, I wasn't watching what she was doing. I had pushed the button at the pedestrian crossing, but I don't think Laura knows how to cross a road properly."

"So, she doesn't know much street smart?" Jasmine asked the question with more of a pleading for Alex to say yes than with curiosity.

"No. She hasn't walked up stairs until she got here yesterday, either."

Jasmine sighed. "Well, I am going to kill Jackson when he gets home. I leave for one month and I come back to find SAS have dumped two children with him. Let alone one who doesn't know a thing. Lucky for him I love and know how to look after kids because I doubt he knows how to look after himself for a day let alone two teenagers."

Alex stood in an uncomfortable awkwardness. What was he supposed to say? Oh, there there, it'll be okay? I don't think so.

"Well, I'll let you get unpacked. You might have to share a room with Laura, though. I haven't been here yet and I don't know how many bedrooms there are." She started walking don the hall. Alex followed with his luggage. "Oh, here is a room you can have."

"Thanks." The room was a plain, white squarish room with a large wardrobe and a white-framed bed. He threw his bags in the wardrobe and went to go find Laura.

"Alex!" Laura's voice was coming from the bathroom. He slowly found his way there and was shocked by what he saw. Laura was standing over the basin, blood dripping from her head. It was all in her hair and on her hands. He immediately put a hand over the cut and used his other hand to turn the tap on.

"What did you do?" he asked gently, washing a bit of the blood away. He was no doctor but his training with the SAS had taught him a bit about basic first aid.

"It just started bleeding. I don't know why." Laura had worked herself into a frenzy and Alex was finding it hard to keep her still, which was surprising since Laura was a head shorter. He called for Jasmine and continued cleaning the cut. Laura was still panicky.

"Oh, my." Jasmine's reaction had been something like Alex's – only more feminine. She ran over and held Laura's hair back. "What happened?" The blood flow had stopped but Laura was a mess.

Before Laura could answer, a new voice came from the door. "Holy!"

Alex's blood ran cold.

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**Yippee! Another chapter. That is six updates in five days. I'm proud. This chapter was easily named on one half, but the other needed a bit of editing. I hope you liked it. Review and I will write 200 words. Every review will get closer to an update! That is my new deal. Most chapters are around 1200 words. I think...**

**RG xoxoxox**


	7. Names and News

**Sorry I couldn't update earlier. ... Stupid bloody system error. If you can't update, I say... click like mad. It worked for me.

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So, I get 5 reviews at 200 words each. That means 1000 plus 4 (cause I'm nice) words. You want more words, review. Who's excited? Anyways I just have a few things to say.

**1. I know Alex is being a bit childish, but I think that although he is a spy, he still has his human/teenage part.**

**2. I have decided to make Laura different from all the other teenage female spies that a lot of authors invent. I notice that they all seem to be hot, attractive, smart, athletic, flirtatious and all round better than Alex. If Anthony wanted there to be a girl better than Alex, he would create one. That is why my OC, Laura, is very different. Sure, she is smart (to a point), can speak heaps of different languages, is good at karate, a fairly good spy and nice and all, but she isn't better than Alex who was raised as a spy and had it in his blood.**

**3. I like cheese.**

**4. I re-read Stormbreaker so I could remember what happened at training camp. I only own Stormbreaker, Point Blanc and the Skeleton Key books, so I have no idea what happens after those. This fic is set after Stormbreaker and before Eagle Strike but doesn't really have a time setting. I'd say he is fifteen in this fic, though.**

**5. For some reason I picture Wolf looking like Dean from Supernatural. I don't know why, though. Tell me what you guys think he looks like.

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Alex's blood ran cold.

Standing at the door, were Eagle and Wolf. The same Eagle and Wolf who gave Alex Hell at training camp. The same Eagle who trod on his toes constantly. The same Wolf who trapped him in the 'Killing House' and caused him to put up with a severe headache from all the gases inside the horrible shack.

He was _staying_ with _them_? He hardly doubted he would be able to fall asleep that night.

Eagle and Wolf walked straight past Alex to Laura. Eagle pulled out a first aid kit from under the sink and opened it. Inside were numerous bandages, ointments, booklets and other, random objects. Wolf led Laura over to the bath and asked her to sit on the edge. Jasmine was still holding her hair back. None of them noticed Alex after that, apart from Laura who had managed to grab hold of his hand and was squeezing it so hard, the circulation had almost stopped.

"Hold still," Alex whispered at her.

This grabbed Wolf's attention. "Cub?" Everybody snapped their heads to look at him.

"Wolf." Alex said the word with little or no emotion. He still had images of his training flashing through his mind. Laura was still squeezing his hand and Alex was starting to feel faint. "Eagle."

"Cub." Alex would have thought that Eagle would have used more hatred, but he said it rather nicely. What Alex didn't know, was both the elder men had changed since they last met, and they regretted ever hurting Alex.

"Eagle! That's his name, Alex. Cub? Ha, that is the funniest name I've ever heard." Laura burst into laughter. She continued until her head started to hurt. At least she had released Alex's hand.

"So, your name is Alex?" Eagle asked.

"Yes. And yours is...?"

"Jackson."

"And mine is Jasmine. Now come here you." Jasmine pulled Jackson out of the bathroom and into the corridor.

"Yuck!" Wolf and Laura said at the same time. Alex just chuckled.

"Look, Cub," Wolf turned to Alex, speaking slowly.

Alex didn't know what to expect. Laura was just confused.

"I've been meaning to say this for a while. Look, I'm sorry I was such a horrible person to you back at training camp. Will you forgive me?"

He looked extremely awkward. Alex didn't know what to say. Should he forgive him? Of course he should. If he was going to live with this man, it might as well be as friendly as possible between the two.

"Sure." His voice sounded very confident and...dare I say it...manly.

Laura's smile faltered. "Why do I always get left out?" she whined.

"Laura, where were you this morning?" Wolf asked, taking on a role of responsibility for the teenage girl.

"Oh, strike me blue. I swear I wanted to tell you. We went for a walk to a place. And that is how I got this." She pointed at her bandaged forehead. "Alex pushed me out of the way of a speeding car."

She beamed at Alex. He went a light shade of pink again. Wolf looked surprised.

"So, he is a hero, aye?" Laura nodded, but stopped when her head started to hurt.

They heard the faint ring of a telephone and somebody running to get it.

"Jasmine! It's for you!"

The three heard another person walk over to the phone and a whispered conversation. A few moments later, Eagle appeared at the door of the bathroom. He had a goofy smile on his face.

"I think it is somebody called Chalen Cunt. They need to talk to Jassie for some stupid reason. Probably about you, Laura," he added, before sitting next to her.

"Are you sure it wasn't a Baldwin Shunt?" she asked, frowning behind her bandage.

"Could have been." Alex shook his head.

Eventually, all the people in the bathroom wandered away to do their own thing. Wolf and Eagle went to finish some paper work while Laura and Alex had a look around. The apartment was very big and would challenge even the Rider mansion.

It had four bedrooms (so Jasmine and Jackson would have to share), a main bathroom and a toilet by the laundry, a family-sized lounge room, a large kitchen and dinning room and included three parking spaces. The wondered around for a while before meeting Eagle and Wolf in the lounge room.

Laura and Alex sat down on one of the bigger couches and talked quietly. Laura told him about how she grew up in the care of two spies who had never been able to spend time with her and left her with an aged karate instructor. She also told him about how they lived on a farm and she would always get to ride the horses and go ice skating with her best friend, Timothy.

"Is Jasmine off the phone yet, Eagle? I need to make a call," Wolf asked his mate. He nodded.

"Why don't I get an animal name?" Laura asked.

"You haven't asked for one."

"Oh."

Alex, Eagle and Wolf all expected her to ask for one. But, she didn't. She felt that it was a title to earn, not one to beg for. Before she even thought twice about asking, Laura was going to make sure she earned her name. It was only the right thing to do.

Wolf stood up and walked over to the phone by the kitchen as Jasmine walked back. She sat down in the couch across from Alex and Laura and sighed.

"I need to talk to you," she said. She looked very cautious.

Eagle stood up. "I'll leave you to it." He kissed Jasmine on the cheek and left the room. Alex and Laura stayed very still.

Alex was worried that something had happened to Jack. What if the plane had crashed? What if her father wouldn't talk to her? What if the assassin had something to do with it? He wouldn't be able to live with himself if something had happened.

"It's about your mission."

**There we go. 1004 words. Remember guys, you want longer chapters; all you have to do is review. I don't mind if I don't get many, though. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. It'll only affect youse.**

**Ha-ha...youse. One of my teachers says that word all time. I guess it rubbed off.**

**Now, down to business. I have four vacant spots for people at Brookland School. You can choose between a pupil, a teacher, a parent or a sibling. They can be any gender and you decide what they look like. Most interesting will win. Don't forget to include:**

**Status e.g. Teacher**

**Gender e.g. Male**

**Appearance (hair, eyes, build) e.g. Brunette, blue eyes and very chubby.**

**Interesting fact e.g. Ex Porn Star**

**Ew...the things my mind come up with. I might actually use this character...hmm...**

**Anyways, get in fast because I'm updating soon. Don't forget to review.**


	8. Past and Pizza

**Okay, the drill was gotten. I updated reviewless cause I did them about two minutes after each other. Pretend it is an early or late Birthday present. Sorry it took a while to update the last chapter. Fan Fiction was having a meltdown and I was stuck in the middle of it. I couldn't load new documents on the thing. Anyways, here is the next chapter. I hope you like it.**

**This chapter is dedicated to cuteismeep. You rock!**

**P.S. Sorry, I couldn't resist this next bit.

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"It's about your mission."

Alex relaxed. Laura sniffed.

"I've been told about it as Laura's female guardian."

Laura sat up. "Why do I need two guardians?"

"Well, don't get me wrong, Eagle and Wolf have some responsibility. The thing is, they have no idea how to care for a teenage girl. Any bets they never even interacted with females as teenagers, the girls tended to stay away. I wouldn't blame them," she added as an after thought.

They all chuckled.

"Anyway," said Jasmine, "as I was saying, you'll need a female for the first part of the mission."

Alex and Laura were confused. All they had to do was get into the twins' house, somehow. Why did they need Jasmine for that?

"This is the part I'm afraid of..." Jasmine muttered to herself. Neither of the teenagers heard. "Laura?" She looked up to meet the girl's gaze. "You understand that I don't fully accept to this kind of thing..." Laura gave her a questioning look. "...But MI6 are asking me to give you a makeover."

Laura's reaction was classic. She stood up, stomped her foot, crossed her arms, made a noise of protest and pouted. Her face was slowly going red.

"I don't want one. I like me the way I am," she said, angrily.

"I know, Laura. But this is for the mission. I understand that you don't want one, Hell, I don't want to give you one, but MI6 can do whatever they want to force you into it. Like it or not." Jasmine smiled at Laura. "Plus, it will be fun!"

Laura sat back down with a sigh. She really didn't want a makeover. She hated people caring about how she looked and hated acting like she gave a damn. Laura was just happy she was still alive after the assassin had somehow survived.

"Laura?" Alex asked.

Laura looked up. It was then that she realised she had subconsciously walked to her room. She faked a smile and sat down on her bed. Alex stood at the door, leaning on the wall.

"Are you okay?' he asked.

She slowly nodded. That nod turned into a shake.

"No," she whispered. "I'm not."

Alex stood up off the wall and sat down next to her. "What's up?"

"What's up?" she repeated. "My whole life, I've been an outcast. ASIO took me in and gave me a job to raise money for myself to get an education, I was finally raising money and I had made a friend. Timothy. And then I had the Freelance mission."

Alex didn't say anything, so Laura continued.

"I had to get information on a man, Freelance, and deliver it back to a man called Titian. What I didn't know, was that it was all a hoax. Freelance was a made up name and the second man, Titian, was tricking me. He sent me into a house to crack all the codes. I didn't get out for three weeks."

Alex raised his eyebrows. He had been on dangerous missions before, but none of them had lasted that long. "What happened next?"

"Eventually Timothy figured out where I was and came to get me. We were almost out of the _retched_ place when the assassin arrived. He knocked Timothy out with a cricket bat and nearly hung me before ASIO had discovered that somebody had tricked me. They sent in an armed force and got us out but the assassin wasn't killed."

Laura had started crying. Tears were running down her face and onto her old hoodie. She pulled some tissues out of her drawer and wiped most of them away. Alex didn't know what to do.

"I was finally out after 3 and a half weeks and couldn't think of anything better than freedom. But the whack Timothy got to the head made him loose most of his memory. He didn't know who I was, he didn't know what had happened and he thought that it was my fault. By then, the assassin had come back and was still after me. I had to escape. That was when MI6 came into it."

"And that is how you got this mission," Alex finished for her. Most of the tears had stopped, but her face was red and blotchy.

"I don't want that makeover because Timothy had never wanted me to change. I can remember on my eleventh birthday, I was so excited and I thought nothing would bring me out of it. One of the boys told me I was ugly and ruined my whole day. Timothy punched him up," She giggled. "And we made a promise that we would never change for anybody but each other. And now, he's gone."

Alex didn't like that she was talking about Timothy as if he was dead. Since his uncle's death, Alex had always had a strong opinion on death. He knew that you're never too young to die. But Timothy was too young to forget.

That night, the five decided to go out to dinner. The options were McDonalds, Italiano (an Italian restaurant), Jasmine's Grandma's house and Pizza Hut. Eagle wanted to go to Jasmine's Grandma's house because she always favoured him, Jasmine didn't want to go to McDonalds or Pizza Hut and the other three, well, they didn't care so long as they ate.

"Please, Jassie? Can we please go to Grandma's house?" Eagle begged, down on his knees.

"No, love. I am not about to dump five hungry people on Grandma Kiki," Jasmine said, pushing him away.

Eagle stood up, sniffed, scratched his head then ran to get the keys. "We are going to Italiano!" he called over his shoulder.

Soon enough, Eagle, Jasmine (who both sat in the front), Wolf, Laura and Alex (who squashed into the back) were all in Eagle's sports car. It was a shiny red colour and had black interior. Wolf was grinning like a mad man by just looking at it.

"Can I drive it?" he asked Eagle.

"Nope. Nobody is going to touch my baby. The Beast doesn't like anybody but me driving."

Jasmine looked a bit angry at all the attention the car was getting.

"Please?" Wolf begged.

"Maybe. Depends on how she likes you."

"Right."

The drive over was very fun. The car handled like a dream. Eagle drove to the restaurant the scenic way, which involved a lot of turns and bends. They were all disappointed to get out. Except for maybe Jasmine, she didn't really feel the power the Beast could obtain.

"What may I get you this evening?" asked a young waitress as they sat down by a window table.

Eagle and Jasmine ordered a couple's pizza (a pizza with two slices of everything), Wolf got pasta and a pizza with the lot and Laura and Alex each got a kid's meal (a small pizza, a salad and a drink). The waitress walked off to the kitchens and the group were left to talk. Wolf and Eagle flew into a detailed conversation on cars, Laura and Jasmine talked about some political issue and Alex looked out the window.

Across the road was a small park with a few pieces of playground equipment. Standing out the front were two men. They were wearing long cloaks and seemed to be hiding in the shadows. Alex squinted in their direction. It was hard to see what they were doing exactly, but he thought he saw them exchange something.

_Probably drug dealers_, Alex thought.

The meals were delivered by the chef, Antonio. Laura had a short conversation with him in Italian before he went back to the kitchens. This left the rest of the group amazed. Laura didn't notice, though. She was too busy eating. When they were all finished, Jasmine paid for the dinner and they all walked over to an ice creamery for dessert.

Just as they were leaving, however, Alex saw somebody he thought he wouldn't see for a long time.

* * *

**There. Who liked it? I'm choosing now as the appropriate time to thank all my reviewers. Keep it up!**


	9. Thinking and Thugs

**Hey, I haven't updated lately (shifty eyes) so I thought I would. I noticed that I have some regular reviewers. To them, I say thanks. I hope everybody enjoyed the last chapter. I enjoyed writing that, not that you really care. Anyways, here is the next chapter. It may not be what you wanted but it is what my sister has told me to do and since she has a contract (a scruffy blue texta squiggle on an old homework sheet of mine), I have to do what she says.

* * *

**

Just as they were leaving, however, Alex saw somebody he thought he wouldn't see for a long time.

Sabina Pleasure was looking as gorgeous as always. She had her hair up in a pony tail and she was wearing the latest fashion clothing, only accessorised with a big smile on her face. Alex

"Wow!" Laura whispered, seeing her in the doorway.

Alex ducked behind Laura, hoping Sabina wouldn't see him. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to her, he would have loved to, but he knew that things would only get complicated with their mission. Laura was giving him a strange look over her shoulder. Jasmine, Eagle and Wolf didn't notice anything and were already out of the shop.

"You know, it is kinda hard to hide behind me since I'm so short," Laura said, a little too loud.

Sabina whipped around, intrigued by her accent. She smiled pityingly at Laura when she noticed the bandage around her head and gave Alex a curious look. He was bending down to hide behind her and looked very uncomfortable. Luckily, Sabina didn't recognise Alex from behind Laura's hair. She continued walking to the counter. Finally, Laura caught on.

"How about we go to the movies, Bob?" Laura practically yelled.

"Yes, lets, Daisy," Alex yelled, too.

Alex and Laura shuffled to the door. Sabina was giving them a weird look from the cash register. She turned to grab her chocolate ice cream, Alex and Laura choosing that time to escape. They sprinted out of the building, catching up to the others. Jasmine gave them a questioning look but they were to out of breath to explain.

"Care to tell?" Jasmine asked, one eyebrow raised.

Laura shook her head. "I don't even know."

The group walked on, toward the car park. Eagle stopped to look in a car window – he said it was _wicked_ – and they walked on. On the way back, Wolf drove. Eagle sat in the front to make sure he didn't hurt the Beast. Jasmine sat between Laura and Alex, trying not to fall asleep. It was very late by the time they were home.

The teenagers went to bed as soon as they got to the door. Laura wasn't too enthusiastic about stairs any more. By 11, the whole apartment was still. No lights were on and no voices could be heard. This left all the inhabitants to their thoughts.

Alex was thinking about how well he seemed to fit in with the little group of people he was now living with. Eagle and Wolf may have given him Hell, but he knew they had changed. Jasmine and Laura seemed lovely. He got along with Jasmine, the same way he got along with Jack. And Laura seemed like a long lost friend to him.

He was also thinking about what Laura had been through. Imagine being alone all you life, and when you finally get a friend, something happens and then they forget you. Blame you even. And that is when Alex broke a promise to himself. He wasn't going to make Laura's life Hell, it already was.

Laura was thinking about the girl at the shop. She knew Alex recognised her. But she had no idea why he wanted to avoid her so much. She just figured it must have been a rocky relationship. She wasn't going to question Alex about it until she got to know him better. She liked Alex and wanted to be his friend, Laura would let nothing jeopardise that.

Jasmine was thinking about what she had been asked to do by MI6. She didn't want to change Laura. She liked the girl the way she is. Jasmine could remember when her Mother used to make her dress 'properly', and make her go to fancy dinners and marry young. There was nothing in the world Jasmine hated more then making people change.

Wolf was thinking about his new job. He had no experience looking after teenagers and probably wouldn't do a good job if he had. He vowed he would try his best.

Eagle was thinking about his car.

* * *

Alex was neither awake nor asleep, however that works, when he heard a noise. It was the sound of somebody opening a door. He wasn't sure if it was just in his dream, or if he head really heard it. He sat up straight and listened. Everything was quiet again. He had the familiar feeling of danger spring up from the bottom of his stomach, making its way to his throat. He still didn't move.

His heart was racing at a thousand miles an hour. Alex could practically hear his heart beat. He quietly stood up and walked to the door. What he feared was coming true. Whoever it was, was standing right outside his door. He could hear their lungs shallowly taking in air – as if they were scared too. Alex was about to pull out some form of weapon to arm himself, when the door started to open.

Alex ducked out of the way, barely dodging being knocked out cold. A figure stepped inside. It was definitely female and much shorter than him.

"Laura?" he whispered over to her.

She gasped and turned around to face him. Out of the moonlight, he could just make out her appearance. Her head was bleeding from under the bandage and it looked like she had been crying. Laura was shaking violently, silent tears rolling down her face. Alex didn't know what to think, or say for that matter. She had almost given Alex a small heart attack. If it wasn't urgent, he wouldn't forgive her.

"Alex?" she whispered back.

"What's wrong?" he asked, pulling her over to the desk chair so she could sit down.

"Alex?" she asked, urgently.

"Yes?"

What she said next was said with a deadly tone, as if she felt it was her fault.

"There was somebody outside my window."

"What? Where are they now?"

"He stacked me and... and..."

"Okay okay. Calm down. What happened?"

Alex was scared, not for his safety, but for Laura's wellbeing. She looked very distraught.

"Well, I was almost asleep when I saw a shadow of a man. He...he...came in through the window and tried to hurt me. He...he...had like a...a...a gun with him. I knocked it out of his hand and it fell out of the window. Then he started doing all this karate stuff. He was pretty good too."

"But where is he now?"

Laura stopped. She had been staring around the room the whole time. She lifted her head so they were eye-to-eye. She was still shaking.

"I...I think I...I think I killed him."

* * *

**So, who liked it and who didn't? Review and tell me what you want to happen. I'm sure it can fit in there somewhere...**

**RG**

**P.S. Still searching for some new characters.**


	10. Beds and Bins

**Hey ya'll. So... I still expect you to review my other chapters when they come through... evil look. You don't have to, though. It's not like I'm going to assassinate you or anything shifty eyes. I dedicate this chapter to wolfie91 for this comment: **Laura and Alex are going to 'Get It On' kissing noise unless they're under age. **Ha... that would be very funny. But, they are 14 or 15 or something. Don't forget to fill out your "I Want To Be A Character" form and send them in. I have about three spots left. This chapter should ring your bell, or float your boat, or rock your caravan.

* * *

**

Alex froze. He wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or if Laura had just been over reacting. He pulled her over to his bed and made her lie down.

"Stay here and I'll go take a look."

She nodded and stayed very still, only moving to mop up her tears. Alex slowly walked out to the hallway. His heart was racing at a very fast pace – probably too fast for it to be healthy. His legs somehow forced themselves to step into the doorway of Laura's room. He wasn't sure what to expect.

He walked inside and had a look around. It was very quiet and eerie. The moon shone through the window to light up Laura's room. The room was untouched. No body, no blood, no sign of a broken entrance. The window was open, but only a small crease in the curtains could be seen. Alex turned around. Everything was in order as if nothing had happened.

Alex sat on Laura's bed and put his head in his hands.

"How could I be so _stupid_?" he whispered to himself.

He was convinced it was all a hoax. He had met the girl only that morning and already he was being fooled. Laura had come into his life, pretended to be his friend and tricked him. There was no trace of a kafuffle at all. She was lying.

He couldn't remember hearing any noise but the door opening. Who was to say Laura and some man had fought badly enough to wipe one out? Didn't Laura know to scream in situations like that? That is one of the first things that come to a human's mind. Scream. Had Laura of screamed, Alex would have been at the door within seconds. But she hadn't.

If anything, he was disappointed. She hadn't even mucked a few things around to make it look real. And she was supposed to be a spy! But, what kind of a spy was she? For all he knew, Laura could just be a phoney who had tricked MI6.

Who hadn't climbed stairs before? Who hadn't used a crossing? But who would voluntarily throw themselves at a car? Who had never seen a common type of cheese? Who was this girl? Whoever she was, she certainly knew how to act.

Alex stood up and walked back to his room. Laura was fast asleep in his bed. He pulled the pillow out from under her head. He flipped it around so the blood from her bandage was away from him and threw it down onto the ground. He grabbed a spare blanket and lay down on the floor.

And with a last bitter thought, he fell asleep.

_She probably just wanted the comfy bed!

* * *

_

Alex woke up before Laura the next morning. She was sleeping peacefully in her pyjamas on Alex's bed. Alex had a sore neck from sleeping on the floor and had slept on his shoulder badly. He was in a right amount of pain. He quietly grabbed some clean clothes and walked to the bathroom. No body else was around. Well, it was a _Sunday_. He had a shower, got dressed and walked back to his room. Laura was missing. He walked over to her room and found her standing in the middle of her rug, staring around.

"Where is everything?" she asked Alex.

"Everything?"

"The blood from the carpet, the...the...the man!" She was waving her arms around frantically. "The...gun!"

Alex caught one of her mistakes. "You knocked the gun out of the window, remember?"

"No!" she muttered, still staring around.

"Really?"

"I'm serious, Alex!" she half yelled.

Alex raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "I'm sure you are."

"Well, if you aren't going to help me..."

She stormed out of the room, still in her blue pyjamas, and Alex heard the front door slam behind her. Alex shook his head and walked over to the window. Underneath was a giant dumpster for all the rubbish. There was also a car park for visitors and the entrance to the car park for the residents. Alex stared out of the window for a while before noticing a little figure walking over to the rubbish bin.

It was Laura. She climbed up to the edge of the bin and peered inside. It looked like she noticed something because she started climbing into it. Alex was rather shocked. Most girls he knew wouldn't go within three feet of a rubbish bin, but here was Laura, climbing into one. But, then again, Laura was unlike most girls.

"Nickleson?" Alex called out of the window.

"What, Rider?" was Laura's reply.

"What are you doing in the bin?"

"What are you doing not in the bin?"

"Again with the lame come backs!" Alex muttered under his breath before yelling to Laura again. "Stay there Nickleson!"

"Alright!" She is a very easy person to boss around.

Alex walked over to the front door but stopped before walking out. He had no way back in if he closed the door. He walked over to the kitchen bench. There was a pot full of different keys. He sifted through them until he found one marked with 'House'. Alex walked back over to the door and shut it behind him. The trip down the stairs was a bit quicker than he remembered. Probably because he was properly awake this time. He walked out of the front garden and around the side until he saw the dumpster again.

"Nickleson?"

"Here!"

Laura's head popped up from behind the bin's green walls. She was covered in filth and resembled a blue pig. A skinny, blue pig. Alex walked up to her and put his hands on the side. His legs kicked off from the ground, lifting him so he could sit on the edge without falling in if he twisted at the right moment. He pulled it off. As a result, there was no rubbish-covered Alex. Unlike Laura.

"I wish I could do that," Laura said.

"Maybe when you don't stink as much I will show you how," Alex replied, holding his nose.

The smell was unbelievable. There was a strong stench of rotting scraps, stale food, something else sinister and Alex swore he could see the stench lines fly off it. It was rather sickening. Laura nodded and sat down in the dumpster again.

"Laura?"

"Yes?"

"What exactly are you doing?"

"I'm looking for the gun."

"Are you sure it is here?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, if the blood and the man are missing, wouldn't the gun be?"

Laura sighed. "I don't know how those things disappeared."

"It doesn't all fit if you ask me."

"Well, it wouldn't."

"What does that mean?" Alex was sure he would get a confession out of this.

"The assassin has something to do with it."

Alex suddenly was reminded of Yassin.

"What makes you think that?"

"Since when have I been able to knock somebody unconscious only to find everything normal the next morning?" She turned to him. "You didn't do anything, did you?"

Alex looked smug. "Nope."

"Figures..." she muttered under her breath. "Are you going to help me?"

"Why should I?"

"'Cause you're my friend!"

"Really?"

Laura gave Alex a hurt look and continued digging around. By then, the smell had almost made Alex pass out so he headed back up to the apartment. The key worked perfectly and Alex soon found himself back in his room. He threw the window open and looked down. Laura was still scuffling about. Alex laughed and walked to the kitchen to get something for breakfast. He was starving.

* * *

**Originally, this chapter was a very short one – 600 words. But as I was writing the next chapter, I realised I hadn't had many reviews and remembered the alert thing was stuffed. And I took it upon myself to apologise on behalf of fanfic by giving you and extra 600 words or so from the next chapter. The next one will include the start of the Alex/Laura friendship/spyship. Yay!**

**RG**


	11. Garbage and Guns

"Alex?" somebody half yawned.

He turned to find Jasmine half asleep, standing at the door. Or rather, leaning. She was wearing her pyjamas and a very large rug was wrapped around her shoulders.

"Oh, Hey."

Jasmine walked over to the bench while Alex pulled out three bowls and started looking for some form of food. Jasmine muttered something about cold weather and preferring the Australian climate before helping him look.

"I don't think those boys know how to set up a house," Jasmine remarked on finding the cereal under the sink. "Where is Laura?"

Alex thought for a moment. He could tell Jasmine about the man and the incident or he could just pretend nothing had happened. That seemed the safest option.

"Not sure. She is probably asleep."

"Oh."

Jasmine seemed too sleepy to register anything at the moment anyway. Alex and Jasmine sat and ate their breakfast in silence. Alex kept sending glances to the door, hoping Laura would walk in. He wasn't so sure leaving her in a dumpster was such a good idea anymore. By the time they had finished, Laura still hadn't showed. Alex had to admit, he was worried. Jasmine told Alex she was going to go and get ready, and Alex decided to go look for Laura. He ran to the window.

"Hey, Alex?" somebody called from somewhere near him. Alex looked around. He couldn't see anybody. "Over here!"

"Laura?"

She was standing over near one of the cars. She looked as messy as ever. But what really grabbed his attention, was what she was holding. A gun of some sort.

"PUT THAT DOWN!" he yelled.

She dropped it as soon as the words had left his mouth. Alex sprinted out of the apartment, all his running had come in handy yet again. He passed Jasmine ("Alex?") and dove down the stairs.

* * *

He ran out to Laura, only to find her surrounded by a gang of some sort. He hadn't been seen yet, so he crouched down behind a nearby car. His spy instincts kicked in immediately. He only wished Laura's would too – if she had any. The gang members were all rather large and intimidating. There were four of them, each holding their position in a half-circle around Laura. 

"Come here, _girlie_," one of the men in the group called, beckoning her forward.

Laura stepped backwards out of the way and Alex had a clear view of her. She had the gun in her hands again, pointing it at the man who had spoken. Alex was surprised at her confidence. She was normally an emotionally challenged teenager, but with a gun, she was very James Bond. He knew most girls who were in a situation like that wouldn't be able to think clearly – especially if they were in their pyjamas and covered in rubbish.

"Come on, hand over the gun," the tall bloke to the left demanded.

"No!" Laura hissed, turning the gun on him.

The man took a step back. "Whoa there. Now you don't want to do anything stupid, do you?"

Laura's confidence failed. She shook her head, allowing herself to look scared. Alex swore under his breathe and shuffled over to a different spot. It was smaller, and there was a good chance he could be seen, but it was closer to Laura. He quickly tried to think of a plan. There was some rope and a long stick nearby. He carefully reached out a hand to grab it.

"Hey!"

Alex snapped his hand back in. He closed his eyes and waited for one of them to come around the corner and knock him flat. When they didn't, Alex realised they were talking to a woman walking past. She was very attractive and looked well dressed. She stopped when they yelled at her, giving them a curious look. All the men turned their attention on her. Laura and Alex – with out knowing what each other were doing - immediately acted in their weakness. Alex grabbed the rope and tumbled out from his spot. Laura hid the gun away in a nearby bag before picking up the stick and holding it in a ready position.

"Alex!" Laura whispered, grateful for company.

The gang turned back to Laura. Shock hit them like a tomato to a bad comedian. They weren't expecting another person to show up. Especially not one who looked like he could wipe them out with one fatal blow. Alex was dangerous. They were scared. What else could go his way?

"Get them," the leader hissed.

The two men to his left pounced on Laura, almost knocking her down. She used her martial art skills to hit both of them around the neck at the same time, knocking them unconscious. It was a lucky break.

The leader and the henchman to the right advanced on Alex. They were the better skilled of the four. Alex had been in a situation like this before. In the breakers yard near his uncle's car. He had fought and won. This time should be no different since he had grown and was stronger than ever. Plus, he had Laura.

"Take the one on the left," Alex told Laura, dodging the larger of the men and pointing to the weakest one.

"On it."

"Game over, buddy!" the leader spat, trying to pull Alex into a headlock.

Alex tied the rope in a lasso shape with one hand, defending with the other. He managed to block one last punch before the gang member knocked him into a wall, hurting his back. Alex could barely move his lower body now. He was done for unless Laura could get to him.

Meanwhile, Laura was having a battle of her own. The man had a slice of her stick, pressing up against her throat. She was pinned to the wall and the only thing keeping the man from choking Laura, was that she was kicking his shins. She couldn't keep it up for much longer, though. She was done for unless Alex could get to her.

Or... the gun.

* * *

**And I am stopping it here. Sorry if you wanted more. I have written three chapters today (although I am only sending one in at a time) and my fingers hurt. I might get a strain if I don't quit now. You don't want me to be an invalid, do you? I can't update if I am...**

**Still star searching...send in those characters.**

**RG**


	12. Coverups and Convertibles

"Alex!" Laura screamed as her legs gave way and the man pushed the bar further into her throat.

Alex wasn't sure what to do. He had a rope to use, but he wouldn't be able to get it in good use unless he got away from the wall. He took a small step forward, forcing the man attacking him back a bit. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Laura still putting up a fight. Just as Alex managed to pull the leader into the concrete, fracturing his knee caps, the other man lunged at him. Alex knew he could finish this guy off, but the thing that worried him was that for the man to be after him, he must have finished up Laura.

"_Goodbye!_" the leader hissed, closing in on him.

_This is it_, Alex thought, backing up into the wall.

The man was coming after him, holding onto a large sheet of glass with the ability to cause serious injury. Alex dived out of the way, hoping to be able to get up in time to make a dash for it. He came in contact with something that was a lot softer than concrete as the man pushed him over. It was Laura's back.

BANG!

The man fell to the ground in pain. Alex stood up in time to see Laura holding a gun to the leader's back before they both took a step back.

"I've killed him! I've killed him!"

"Calm down. You've only hit his leg," Alex puffed, putting a hand on her shoulder before pulling it away as he realised she was still covered in filth. "Let's get you cleaned up."

"What about the gun?"

"Er..."

Alex had an idea. After a few minutes, they were walking away from the unconscious men in a reasonably happier mood.

"Wait!"

Laura ran back to where they had left the men. She moved one of them over a bit so he was in a compromising position with one of the others. The teenagers had moved the bodies so it looked like they had had a fight and hid the gun far away after cleaning away Laura's prints. Laura snorted and ran to catch up with Alex.

"You are so immature."

"You are!"

Alex shook his head to himself and they both walked up the stairs to the apartment. When they walked through the door, Jasmine gave Laura a wide-eyed look before demanding that she hop in the shower and put on some comfortable shoes. Luckily, she didn't ask any further questions about where they had been or why Laura had a bruise around her neck and Alex was limping.

"We are going shopping!"

"WHAT?!" Laura yelled, halfway to the bathroom. "SHOPPING?"

"Yes," Jasmine said, shocked by her reaction.

Laura pouted before running off to get all the rubbish off her. Alex walked back to his room and sat on his bed. He sat around for a while before pulling out a picture of Jack and him on a picnic. He stared at it for a while before placing in on his dresser and walking out to the lounge room.

Jack and Alex had never been too close, but they had cared for each other and looked out for one another. Jack hadn't given Alex a phone number, but he knew her mobile number off by heart. If anything happened or he was lonely, he was going to call it. He didn't want to pester her by telling Jack about a run in with a few gang members and a gun. It wasn't ranked dangerous enough in his opinion.

"How do I look?" Laura asked, stepping into the lounge room. She didn't look any different apart from the her bruise which was calming down.

"Laura – ish," he replied.

"Goodie!" Laura sat down next to him on the couch. "By the way, thanks for helping me out before."

"No problem. Anyway, you saved my back a few times over there."

"Nah, I only shot somebody."

"Who shot who?" Jasmine asked, walking back into the room with the keys.

"Nobody," they both said, trying to look innocent. It worked.

* * *

"Come on, hop in the Beast." 

They were back in the garage, standing a few steps away from Eagle's prized possession. Alex wasn't so sure about getting in the car without Eagle's permission. By the looks of it, neither did Laura.

"Are you sure about this?" Laura asked, staring at the red car.

"Yes, now get in some time this week, please."

Laura hopped in first, slowly followed by Alex. They sat in the back, Jasmine in the front. She flicked a switch and the roof came down. Laura gasped.

"Jasmine! The roof is collapsing!"

Alex chuckled. "It's a convertible."

"What does that mean?"

"The roof can come down to make it a roofless car."

"Why would you want a roofless car?"

"To get the wind in your hair and because it looks cool."

"Oh."

* * *

Jasmine parked the Beast and the three spilled out. Laura was very interested in how many cars could fit in the car park. Very, very interested. 

"How do they all fit?" she asked Alex.

"Err...dunno?"

"Oh. I used to say dunno."

"Why don't you anymore?" Alex asked, trying to keep the subject away from car parks.

"I'm talking like a British person now."

"You can still talk like an Australian," Jasmine interrupted. "The boys will dig it."

Laura gave her a weird look before following behind with Alex.

"So, what are we buyin' anyways?" she asked Jasmine after getting over her uncial revolt. Alex noticed her accent snap back in since she had been trying a British accent since that morning.

"A bit of _everything _for you with the money from the agency."

"_Everything?_"

"_Everything_."

Laura and Alex both groaned. Laura might have never been in a shopping mall since she always lived outside in the country, but she knew what that meant. It was going to be a long day. At least it was all charged to MI6's bank. Alex was looking forward to making Laura spend ridiculous amounts of cash on MI6's account. It would make up for all the horrible things they had done to him.

Alex smiled to himself.

* * *

**I think I'll stop it there and have the shopping as next chapter. I haven't got many reviews for those three chapters I wrote and sent in while was ill. I like that word... Don't forget, now is the last chance to get your character forms in. I have two spaces left but if enough people apply with beautiful comments, you ALL get a spot!**

**RG**

**Kisses and Hugs to my reviewers. You guys are my rock!**


	13. Shopping and Skirts

**Woot! New chapter up! This is the shopping chapter you have all been waiting for...

* * *

**

To begin with, Jasmine took Laura and Alex over to an exit near a bathroom shop.

"If any of us get lost, we'll all meet here, okay?" she asked, giving them both a worried look.

"Yep!" said Laura, staring at a man wearing a rather interesting fashion ensemble.

"Sure," replied Alex, studying the surrounding so he would know where to go.

Alex had been there thousands of times, but it was always under construction and new things were constantly appearing and changing.

"Okay, first thing, if we see anything we like, or that somebody else might like, we point it out, okay?"

They nodded.

"Good. We'll start in the bigger shops."

Jasmine walked them over to one of the major brand shops and grabbed Laura's size in almost everything she saw. Pants, shirts, skirts, jackets, coats, everything.

"Wow!" whispered Laura.

Jasmine handed Alex all the clothes she had picked up and continued looking.

"Tell me when I am about to bash into something, will ya?" Alex asked Laura through some of the clothes he was carrying. He couldn't see where he was going; he only headed towards the sound of Jasmine and Laura's voices.

* * *

"Well, that was fun!" said Jasmine as they walked out of the shop. 

Laura and Alex weren't so sure they could agree. As Jasmine walked ahead with her handbag swishing, Alex followed behind carrying about fifteen bags and Laura even farther behind, exhausted from trying so many different outfits on.

"Hungry?" Jasmine asked them as she stopped just outside the food court.

Alex nodded and Laura's eyes grew wide on seeing all the different food shops and choices.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Jasmine sat down at a four-seater table and motioned for the teenagers to follow. Laura sat next to Alex and across from all the bags.

"Wow!" said Jasmine, pulling out the receipt. "Guess how much money we just spent!"

"How much?" Alex asked, his arms sore from carrying so much weight.

"Five-hundred and seventy-four pounds and eight cents."

Alex and Laura gave her looks of disbelief.

"I'm serious! But now it's lunch time."

Jasmine had a large salad, Alex and Laura had a burger from McDonalds and they all had an ice-cream. The best part: it was all on MI6's account. Alex thought that was the best bit.

"Do you need anything, Alex?" Jasmine asked as they continued on their way.

Alex looked at himself. He was wearing an old polo shirt, a pair of old jeans and scuffed-up shoes.

"N-"

"Of course you do!" Jasmine interrupted. "Come on, we'll get you two matching outfits."

At the look of their faces, she laughed and dragged them along. Laura offered to carry a few of the bags, Alex gladly accepting. By the time they had reached the shop, Alex had seen a few of his old class mates and had hidden behind Laura on all of the occasions. Except the next one.

"Alex!"

Alex turned his head to see Tom come up behind him.

"Hey, Tom!" he greeted, as they high-fived.

"What are you doing?" Tom asked, flicking his hair out of his face.

"A bit of shopping."

"_A bit_?" Tom asked, seeing the collection of around 45 bags (Jasmine saw something she liked). "It doesn't look like _a bit_, mate."

"Yeah, well, women. You know what they are like."

"Alex!" Laura called from behind a change room door. "Jasmine left and she said I had to ask what you think of whatever I am trying on and that you have to try on the clothes she left for you on the lounge." Alex noted the pile of things next to where he was sitting. "I'll be out in a sec!"

"Okay," Alex called back.

Tom gave him a questioning look. Alex shrugged.

"MI6," he whispered.

Tom then switched his expression from confused to understanding.

"Right."

They heard the door open and seconds later, Laura tumbled out into the waiting area. She was wearing a pair of tight, dark jeans and a purple, long-sleeve shirt.

"How do I look?" she asked, not noticing Tom's presence.

"Uncomfortable. Have you got the right size?" Alex asked, noticing that she was standing very stiffly.

"I dunno."

Tom coughed. Laura finally realised he was there.

"G'day, I'm Laura," she said, holding a hand out.

Tom took it. "I'm Tom, Alex's friend. Are you Australian?"

Laura nodded. "I'm here with Alex on...student exchange," she said, uncertainly.

"You mean MI6?" Tom asked. "I know all about it. I even got to sign a secrecy statement thingy."

"Oh, cool. So, does it look good or not?" she asked, looking down at herself.

Both the boys nodded. "Okay, onto the 'Yes' pile it goes."

Tom stayed around with Alex while Laura tried some of the other clothes on. Most got the nod of approval, but there were some in there that didn't flatter her. When she was done, Alex tried on all the clothes Jasmine had left for him. He was just sorting them back out when Jasmine arrived. With more clothes, surprise surprise.

"Alex, have you tried on the clothes I left?" she asked, dumping the new pile on an empty seat.

"Yes."

"Good. Laura, have you finished? Change out of that," she said.

"Yes. Okay!"

Laura ran into the change room.

"Hi, I'm Jasmine," she said, shaking Tom's hand.

"I'm Tom, Alex's friend."

"Cool. He is staying with me and Laura for the moment, feel free to come around anytime you want."

"Thanks, I'll do that."

"So what are you here for?" she asked as Laura came back out wearing her old pants and navy hoodie.

"I was shopping with my sister but she went off with some friends and left me alone."

"Oh, stay with us then. We will need your opinion. Laura is going to start attending your school and we need to grab her a uniform, too."

Tom slowly nodded. He wasn't used to the fast-paced way Jasmine always spoke.

"Good. Alex, have you picked out what you want?"

Alex nodded and picked up the 'Yes' pile. This pile contained a lot more shoes than the other one and he poked himself in the eye.

"What about this pile?" Laura asked Jasmine, pointing at the outfits she had just brought in.

"Oh, grab them all. I thought I might get some shopping done, too."

Laura lifted the pile up into her arms and followed Alex, Tom and Jasmine out of the waiting area and towards the cash register.

* * *

"Shorter," Jasmine told the woman. 

They had just brought Laura a uniform and were getting it altered to fit her. The skirt was now just below her knees.

"Shorter."

Halfway up her knees.

"Shorter."

Just above them.

"Shorter."

Laura frowned as it moved about an inch upwards.

"What height do the other girls wear them?" Jasmine asked Tom. He shrugged. "You say shorter or longer."

"Shorter."

It went up.

"Shorter."

Up again.

"Shorter."

It was shorter than ever.

"And just a _little_ shorter."

Laura looked at herself in the mirror. "That is pretty small," she said. "You can almost see my undies."

"That's how all the girls wear them," said Tom, leaning back in his chair.

"_All_ the girls?"

"Yep."

"I don't like the sound of these girls." Laura had one last look at the height of her skirt and nodded. "I guess, if they all wear them that way."

The woman pinned it up and Laura changed back into her scruffy clothes. They paid for the alteration and made plans to pick the skirt up in three days. They then walked back out to the Beast – since all their shopping was complete.

"Well, that was fun," Jasmine said, taking her stilettos off and slipping some other shoes on.

Alex and Laura didn't respond. They were too tired from the day's activities. Escaping a gang and then going shopping was not a good mix, even for two teenage spies.

"How much money did we spend?" Laura asked, yawning.

"Quite a lot," Jasmine replied, parking the Beast next to Wolf's car. "More than I earn in a month.

"Fair dinkum," Laura said, pulling herself out of the convertible.

Alex, Laura and Jasmine all grabbed about twenty bags each and headed up to the apartment. Once they were inside, they dumped them all on the couch.

"Whoa!" said Wolf, walking through the doorway and seeing all the shopping.

Eagle bounded through after him. "Didya buy me anything?"

Jasmine sighed and told them all to sit down. It was pretty squashy on the couch, so Jasmine stood and started sifting through all the things.

"This is for you," Jasmine said, handing Eagle a new suede overcoat. He immediately threw it on, ignoring Wolf's laughter.

"And this is for you," she said, passing Wolf a shoebox. "Brand new, designer label, half price."

Wolf and Eagle thanked her.

"No problem. Now, down to business. Alex and Laura, the clothes I brought you today are to be worn at least once in the next month, or I will take them and wear them."

Laura laughed at the mental picture of Jasmine wearing something of Alex's.

"Laura, before dinner I'm going to try and sort the clothes out into outfits. I want to see them all on you, too."

Laura gave Jasmine a funny look.

"Go put an outfit on and I'll tell you if it goes, okay?"

Laura nodded as Jasmine handed her a skirt and a shirt. After about an hour of trying every little thing on and some of the items twice, they group had dinner. Eagle's 'famous' homemade pizza. When the kitchen was cleared and everybody was full, the adults sat down to watch a movie and the teenagers went off to do their own thing. Alex went to his room and started cleaning it up a bit. He put the blood-stained pillow in the wash, found a clean one, put his new clothes away and double-checked his uniform still fitted. It did, which was a bonus.

"'Night, Alex," Laura said from the doorway to Alex, who was laying in bed, reading.

"'Night, Laura."

Instead of going back to her room, Laura walked over to Alex's bed and sat on the end.

"Whatcha readin'?" she asked, playing with the hem of her new silk pyjamas.

"Just an old school book."

"Oh."

Laura stared at him for a while.

"Jasmine is taking me to the hairdressers tomorrow."

"Really?" Alex said, closing his book.

"Yep."

Alex looked at her hair. It was a tacky blonde colour and all the strands were split and knotty. It suited her, though. It kind of completed her whole 'I don't own a brush, an iron, a washing machine or another outfit' look.

"You have fun."

"What are you going to do all day?" Laura asked, pulling her hair up into a ponytail with a band she found on her wrist.

"I'll probably just go for a walk, chill out, you know."

"Why don'tcha come too? She asked, frowning.

"Maybe. I'll have to check my schedule."

Laura laughed. "Well, I'm gonna get me some sleep," she said, walking out of the door.

"See ya round!" Alex called back, mimicking her Australian accent.

"Like a rissole!"

That got Alex thinking.

* * *

**Ooh... bet you don't know what that means. If you do, include it in your review. I'll post the answer next chapter. So, who liked it? It was fun to write but I had to cut a lot of it out because it was kind of babbly. **

**Just define 'like a rissole' and I'll give you a special mention. Yay!**

**RG**


	14. Cuts and Cereal

**A/N: So...I am going back to 200 words a review. I've done a bit of calculating on my nifty super nerd calculator and...20027 words divided by 200 is about 101. That means you owe me by around 50 reviews! But it's okay, I won't charge interest! **

**P.S. Okay, so I lied before. I said I was going to write what Laura says the way she says it, but I didn't. I am now, though. **

* * *

**Laura's perspective. **

I wake up slowly, my head feels like it weighs a tonne. My brain is aching more than it ever has before. I reach a hand up and touch it. The bandage is still there. I should probably change it. I don't want it to get infected or anything yuck like that.

"Laura! Get in the shower!"

It's Jasmine. Right! I'm supposed to be going to the hairdresser's. Oops. I slowly sit up, my head calms down ever so slightly. I walk over to the door, grab my towel and make my way over to the bathroom. I look in the mirror on the way to the shower. My hair managed to stay in a ponytail overnight, but I look like a hospital patient with the bandage.

"Time for you to jump the gun," I whisper.

I slowly start to peel it off. It kills. No, scratch that. It canes. I can't do it myself. It's too painful. I know! I'll get Alex to help me!

* * *

**Alex's perspective. **

"Alex!"

Great. What now? I roll out of bed and walk blindly to the door. It's six in the morning! What are they thinking?

"Aleeeeeeeeeeeex!"

They are getting more and more persistent. It must be Laura. I can tell by her accent. I think it's starting to rub off on me. Want to know how I can tell? It's because the British pronounce my name Aleerx but her version sounds more like Alix.

* * *

Alex slowly made his way to the bathroom and rubbed his eyes.

"What, Laura?" he yawned.

"I can't rip my bandage off!" she whined, stomping her foot.

"Okay, hold still. On the count of three, I'll rip it off, okay?"

She nodded and clenched her fists.

"One..."

_Rip._ Alex pulled the bandage off as fast as he could.

"Ouch!" Laura cried, slapping Alex on the shoulder. "You didn't count ta three!"

"Yeah, well I like to take the waiting around part out of it."

Laura shook her head. "Oh! Didya hear 'bout the hairdressers?"

Alex nodded. "You told me last night."

"Right, I knew that!" she lied, peering at her cut in the mirror. "Doya think it'll heal?"

"Yeah. Should. Anyway, you go have a shower," he said, walking out of the bathroom.

"Thanks!" Alex heard her call before the door closed and the sound of running water filled his ears.

"Women..."

Alex shook his head and walked through the hallway to the kitchen. Wolf, Eagle and Jasmine were all sitting around, finishing off their cereal.

"Hey, Al!" Jasmine said, turning the page of her magazine.

Alex murmured a response and poured himself some Corn Flakes.

"What did Laura want?" Wolf asked, leaning over to grab some toast off Eagle's plate.

Alex looked up.

"I heard her calling earlier," Wolf said.

"Oh, she needed help getting her bandaid thingy off."

"She trusts you, you know," Wolf said as Eagle snatched the toast back.

Alex nodded. He knew Laura trusted him. He just didn't know how much.

"I remember having to get stitches out, when I was younger, and I wouldn't even trust the doctor. My best friend, Ashley, came but she couldn't convince me to get them out either," Eagle said, looking up at Alex. Wolf saw the chance and seized it. Now he had the toast.

"What ended up happening?" Jasmine asked.

"They knocked me out with gas after I punched the GP."

Nobody said anything. Alex sat down and finished his breakfast. By then, Laura was out of the shower. She skipped into the room, her wet hair flicking water all over the walls. She was wearing a pair of her new jeans and a clean white top.

"Shower's freeeeeeeeee!" she called, pouring herself some cereal and overflowing the bowl. "Oops."

Jasmine sighed and made breakfast for her. "Alex, get in the shower. You are going with Jackson and Jamie today."

Laura pouted. "But I wan'ed him to come with me."

Jasmine frowned. "You can't always get what you want, Laura." She turned to Alex who was washing up his bowl. "I told you not to do anything around here. Now, scat." She shooed him away with her hands.

* * *

Laura sat in the front seat of Wolf's Ute, next to Jasmine.

"Your car's still stuffed, aye?" she asked Jasmine.

Jasmine nodded. "Jamie was kind enough to lend me his car."

Laura laughed. "It aint as dusty as the ones back where I lived, but they're twice as slow."

Jasmine giggled as she pulled into the free parking spot. "You ready?"

Laura nodded and replied in a weak voice, "Ready!"

* * *

**Sorry it is a very small chapter, but the rest of the chapter needs to be separate, I think. Remember dudes, a review for every 200 words (I accept anonymous reviews too). I'll even chuck in an extra 50 words for everybody who can answer this question:**

**What did you have for lunch yesterday? **

**Ooh! That's a hard one. My answer is: half a watermelon, three slices of bread, a few spoonfuls of vegemite, my friend's lunch (which was a pie!) and a glass of water. And yet, I can never put on weight. I guess it's 'cause I run around too much. Review! **

**RG **

**xoxoxoxoxox **


	15. Looks and Lasers

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Alex Rider Books or its characters or Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. But, I DO own Laura, Laser Quest 3000 and a decaying marshmallow.

**A/N:** Thanks to all my reviewers. Together, you submitted 8 reviews and 7 of you said what you had for lunch. That means you have earned yourselves 1950 words minimum. Seeing as I am so lovely, I have decided to wipe your debt clean and allow you to start fresh. This means, from now on any reviews you submit will get you 200 words each and if you answer my question correctly you will get 25-50 more words. I think this is only fair seeing as I add on about 200 extra words anyway, just 'cause I love you.

I am sorry for the long wait, but some emotional issues have made it very hard for me to get anything done. I hope that my writing will pick up a bit and improve. Don't forget to point out any mistakes (nicely) so I can get better. Again, you must review for words, but I will add on anyway!

RG

xox

* * *

_Chapter 15: _Looks and Lasers

* * *

Alex watched the Ute turn around the corner from the window. He was slowly regretting leaving Laura to go by herself – _she probably isn't used to the scissors _– but he wasn't sure what he could do. He had a quick shower and threw on a white shirt and his new jeans. His old pair were a bit short, but this pair was the perfect length. He waited around in the lounge room until Eagle got off the phone.

"You ready?" Eagle asked, combing his hair in front of a mirror.

"Yep," Alex answered. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," Eagle answered, throwing the comb down and turning to face the teenager. "I just have to go get Wolf."

Eagle disappeared into the hallway and Alex sat by himself for a few minutes. Just when he thought the silence was going to eat him, Eagle and Wolf joined him in the lounge room. They silently walked out of the room and down to the garage. They all climbed into the Beast and Alex noticed a soft hum coming from the boot.

"Err, Eagle?"

"Mmm?" Eagle grunted, starting up the engine.

"There is something humming in the boot."

Eagle shrugged. "Probably just your imagination, Cub."

"Okay.'

Alex was fairly sure that he wasn't imagining it. The sound of the humming was soon drowned out by the engine making a loud, vibrating boom as it spun out of the garage. Eagle turned the speakers on and a heavy rock song beat out. Alex assumed it was just for show, seeing as Eagle looked the type to show-off.

* * *

Eagle parked the car in a reserved parking spot a few minutes later.

"God, Eagle!" Wolf said, jokingly. "It's reserved, you idiot!"

"Yes, I know that."

"Are you the boss?" Wolf asked, reading the little sign on the wall.

"I am now!"

Alex and Wolf shook their heads and the three slid out. Eagle led them out of the underground parking lot and through a few alleys.

"Where exactly are we going?" Alex asked Wolf as Eagle walked ahead.

"No idea," Wolf answered, frowning as Eagle tripped over a lady's handbag a few metres in front.

"I thought you knew!" Alex exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "You know Eagle won't be able to find it by himself."

"I know." Wolf grinned. "I like seeing him struggle."

The two followed Eagle around until he stopped. Alex could swear they were just where they had been ten minutes ago, but Eagle didn't seem to realise he had been walking in circles. Alex hated thinking about what Eagle could lead his men into out on the field. The three guys walked down a set of stairs and into a very suss looking room. It smelt of cigarette smoke and play-dough. Alex was a little more concerned about the play-dough than the smoke, come to think of it.

"What is this place?" Alex asked, trying not to breathe through his nose.

"Welcome to the funnest place in the world!" Eagle smiled, holding his arms up as if it was some kind of famous artwork.

"It looks like a dump to me," Wolf muttered so only Alex could hear.

Alex chuckled and watched Eagle wiggle his nose, just noticing the smell himself.

"Come on, through here," Eagle announced, opening a door Alex hadn't yet noticed.

They walked through and stepped down into a completely different room. It was incredibly large, and it was very hard to see the other walls. The room was filled with different passageways and tunnels. Over to the only free wall, near the door, was a large cupboard and sitting by it was a equally large man. Alex was too busy inhaling the considerably cleaner air to pay much attention.

"Jackson, my man!" the stranger boomed, shaking Eagles hand.

"Hey, Kenny. This is Cub and Wolf."

"Cub?" The man turned to face Alex and furrowed his brow. "No relation to Whale?"

Alex didn't know what to say to that.

"Nope!" Wolf said, coming to the rescue. "Whale was shot out in the field and is paralysed on the left side."

"Ouch! Ah well, come right this way."

Kenny opened the cupboard and pulled out three boxes. He handed one to each of them. Eagle opened his straight away, but Wolf and Alex were a little more precautious. When Alex finally opened his, he found a laser gun and a kind of protective vest.

"What the...?" Wolf muttered, holding his up.

"Welcome to Laser Quest 3000! Please enjoy your stay and make the most of it!" Kenny recited, as if he had many times before.

"Laser Quest?" Alex's face broke into a grin. "Awesome!"

"I thought you might like it, Cub," Eagle said, strapping the vest on.

"This'll be great!" Wolf yelled, practicing holding his gun.

Alex slowly figured out how to put his vest on properly and joined Eagle and Wolf who were playing with theirs too. Very quickly, more people showed up, also putting their vests on and waiting around.

"We are going to win!" Eagle hissed at Wolf and Alex.

"Win what?" Wolf frowned.

"Well, we all get into groups of three or four. By the looks of things, these people can't beat three qualified army recruits."

Alex looked over his shoulder at the crowd. Most of them were either around his age, or adults. None of them seemed able to take on the three of them. Alex grinned to himself the whole time they were all being sorted by Kenny. They were teamed up with a girl who looked like she would rather not be there at all. She had very light blonde hair with sky blue tips and was inspecting her nails the whole time.

"Hi, I'm Alex. Who are you?" Alex asked, trying to break the ice.

She looked up at him and turned up her nose. "Dana. Now shoo!"

Eagle and Wolf snickered behind his back. Alex just shrugged. He looked around at all the other groups. There was a group of lanky-looking boys – one who he assumed would be the girl's brother – and three or four groups of two adults and two podgy kids. He felt they were in with a very, very, good chance.

"Okay, folks!" shouted Kenny, beckoning everybody over to him. "I'm just going to explain the rules..."

Kenny went through all the things you could and can't do. Apparently, the vests were triggered by the lasers, and anybody who was tagged, was immediately out. There was to be no fighting, no violence, no cheating, and everybody had to tag at least one person. If you tagged two, you gave your team a 30 second life. Kenny later explained that if you were tagged, and you had a 30 second life, you had 30 seconds to get that person out, or you were out for good. Everybody nodded and the teams were told where to start.

* * *

"I'm excited!" Eagle whispered as they climbed right to the back of the room.

Wolf raised his eyebrows. "I can tell by the way you are bouncing up and down."

Alex stared at Eagle, and noticed he was quite jumpy. "Calm down, we don't want any accidents," he snickered, getting a rather rude hand gesture in response.

"And begin!" Kenny's voice boomed over the loud speaker.

Alex noticed it was rather dark where they were and he could just make out the outline of his surroundings. Wolf started whispering the plan. The girl wasn't listening very well.

"Okay, so we're gonna creep out and stay low. Let's stick together, okay?"

Alex and Eagle nodded, slowly crawling toward a gap in one of the small walls. They stayed very still and listened closely. It sounded like somebody was running their way. Alex pulled himself closer to the wall and peeked out through a gap. He could see an outline of one of the boys. He adjusted his laser to a sort of sniper position and shot. He got the kid right in the chest.

"Number 4 of team Macho is out!" Kenny's voice said.

"What team are we, by the way?" Wolf asked Eagle, patting Alex on the back for his effort.

"Miss Prissy here," Eagle said, giving Dana a glare. "Named us the Butterflies."

Alex shuddered and Wolf made gagging motions. Dana looked up from her nails for a second just to frown. The three boys moved out a little more but Dana didn't seem to notice – she had moved onto her hair. Eagle smiled and beckoned Alex and Wolf to follow him, moving around a corner. They were as careful as possible, trying to climb up a level without Dana noticing. But, they did manage it. Soon, the three team members were crawling across the floor at top speed.

* * *

"Is that somebody?" Eagle hissed as they passed the halfway point.

"Yes!" Wolf hissed back.

They wordlessly agreed that Eagle should shoot the figure, knowing that he was the only one that hadn't shot anybody. So far, Alex was on three, Wolf on four and Eagle...now on one. Alex did the math in his head, and there were only two people apart from their group who hadn't been shot, according to Kenny's voiceover.

"Wolf!" Alex hissed. "There is somebody over there."

Wolf followed Alex's eye line and saw a shadow near one of the exits. He was just about to shoot it, when the boy turned and aimed right for Alex. Wolf and Eagle commando rolled out of the way as Kenny announced he had four minutes to get the guy out or be eliminated.

Wolf and Eagle pushed him in the direction that the boy just ran off. Alex quickly followed him, trying to think of the best way to shoot him down. Alex followed the boy around and around, loosing him a few times. Just as Alex though he had disappeared, he heard some heavy breathing. Alex ducked down low and listened. The breathing was coming from his left. Alex slowly pulled himself along on his stomach, through a narrow tunnel.

"Number 3 of team Macho is out! Only Number 2 of team Russel is left, along with Numbers 1 and 3 of team Butterfly," Kenny said.

Alex swore under his breath, realising Eagle was out. His spy instincts kicked in and Alex was suddenly very aware of the space to his right. He turned the gun around, shooting into a little gap he had found by his side. The boy tumbled out and ran off.

"Number 5 of team Russel is out – team Butterfly wins!" Kenny cheered and Alex grinned.

He found his way back to the entry and met up with the rest of his team, minus Dana who was complaining to her Mum about her chipped nail. They all put the guns and vests back, neatly stacking the boxes. Eagle, Wolf and Alex high-fived as Kenny approached.

"Congratulations, boys. Here is your prize." The large man handed each of the team members a wrapped box. "I'm not sure what is in them seeing as the girls' prizes and the boys' were mixed. Oh, and your team got a high score. Number 56 on the top 100 list. Congratulations."

Eagle and Wolf ripped into theirs but Alex just slipped his prize into his jacket pocket.

"Ooh! I got a set of iPod headphones," said Wolf. "Shame I don't own an iPod."

"Aren't you opening your prize?" Eagle asked, opening his new DVD. "Hmm...Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest..."

"Nah, I'm giving mine to Laura, seeing as she couldn't be here."

"Aww...isn't that lovely!" Wolf cooed, punching him on the shoulder.

Alex stuck his tongue out and the three men headed back toward the entry, blocking their noses as they passed through the smoky foyer. Once they were outside, the light half blinded them forcing Alex to nearly walk into a garbage bin. They safely made it back to the Beast and all piled in, exhausted from all the crawling and running. Since he was tired, Alex forgot to listen for the humming from the boot and it was forgotten.

"What do you think Laura will look like when we get back?" Wolf asked thoughtfully over the heavy music.

"I hope Jasmine wasn't too eccentric when telling the hairdresser what to do. I'd hate for her to look bad, the poor kid," Eagle replied, honking at a man who had just walked in front of the car.

"I hope..." Alex muttered, imagining Laura with blue hair.

"Ah well, we'll just have to find out."

* * *

**Chapter Word Count (not including notes):** 2091

**A/N:** So, how was it? Who wants to know what Laura looks like? That will be coming up next chapter, along with something to do with bridges and lounges. Ooh...I wonder what it is...

**Okay, the question for this chapter is as follows**: 'What is your all time favouritest song in the whole wide world?'

**My answer is:** 'Are you ready?' by Random.

Answering is worth 50 words, again. Thanks for reading, guys. Don't forget to review!

RG

xox


	16. Day 4 and Decor

**Disclaimer:** Alex Rider is not mine. Neither is James Bond or Casino Royale. I also doubt that I own any form of Ute or Brookland School. Although, I think I still have that decaying marshmallow somewhere...

**Reviews from:** Ember-1331, I read not write, Battlecry4ever, Phantom of MY Opera, SharkiesGirl (Rabbitohs Vs Sharkies on Sunday...bring it!), Jousting Elf with a Sabre, Wolfie91, rid3r chick, icyslumber, jessiepotter11390, Swordbearer174, and Mrs. Jones.

**A/N:** Wow! What a turn out. Since I've wiped the debt clean, I've had a lot of reviews. Best reviews yet! So, the word count I was supposed to reach was 2900 and I made it to 2994. I think that was pretty good seeing as I had my half yearly tests. Okay, so this chapter goes right up to the first day of school. There were some pretty...odd suggestions for Laura's new haircut. I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with my final decision. Enjoy!

* * *

As Alex walked through the front door, his heart started beating much faster than before. He assumed it was from the suspense of finding out what Laura looked like. He somewhat doubted blue was her colour. The three walked into the lounge room and Eagle called out for Jasmine.

"Hey, baby? What date it is?" he yelled, flipping through a note book.

"Not sure, just a minute!" she sung, her voice sounding distant.

Alex sat on the couch, running a hand through his hair. He had just had a rather disturbing image of Laura with violently orange spikes on her head. Jasmine sat next to him, making the couch creak.

"She'll be out in a minute," Jasmine said quietly, noticing his anxious behaviour. "And don't worry, she looks good. No green mullets or anything."

Alex swallowed as the new image passed through his brain. Eagle and Wolf had a small and silent pillow fight as Jasmine turned the television on and started flicking through the channels. Alex heard footsteps and immediately turned, knowing it was Laura but not knowing what to expect.

"Wow!" Alex said, taking in her new do.

Laura was standing on the rug, beaming. Her hair had been cut much shorter and now only reached halfway down her shoulder blades. It was curled tightly, flowing around her head. But what had seriously changed, was the colour. Instead of being a dirty blonde, with whitish highlights, it was now a rich, chocolaty, brunette colour with a very small tinge of deep purple.

"Whoa!" Eagle yelled, grabbing Laura's hand and twirling her around. "Somebody looks different!" he said, Laura giggling madly.

Wolf smiled cheekily before tickling Laura until her legs were too weak to hold her up any more and she fell to the floor on her knees, still cackling. Alex grinned at the situation and threw his prize – the one he won at Laser Quest – down on the floor next to her. Laura looked up and smiled at him before ripping open the little package. She held it up to the light as the wrapping flew lazily to the floor.

"James Bond!" Laura squealed. "I think it's a video!"

Eagle took it from her and looked at for a while. "No, it's a DVD."

"A DVD?" Laura asked, frowning.

"Yeah, a new-age video tape," Alex answered, seeing that the movie was a newer version of Casino Royale. He smiled, knowing she would want to see it.

"Can I watch it?" Laura asked, her eyes brightening.

Wolf nodded. "Yeah, let's all watch it together."

That night, the five of them all sat down around the popcorn, preparing themselves for the movie. Eagle and Wolf set up the DVD player, Jasmine turned the lights off and Alex and Laura stole the best seats – on the rug right at the front.

Laura thoroughly enjoyed the movie. So did the rest of the gang. Laura ducked and winced a few seconds late, but she rather got the hang of the action radiating off the screen. She loved the theme song, singing it at the top of her lungs as everybody went to get ready for bed.

"Nightey night, Mr Bond!" Laura giggled from Alex's bedroom door.

"'Night!" Alex said. "What's with the new nickname?" he asked jokingly, raising his eyebrow and throwing a pillow at her.

"Well, you look like he is supposed to. You are blonde for a start. I miss being blonde..." she trailed, fiddling with her hair.

"Don't worry, you look fine."

Laura blushed. "Really?"

Alex nodded. "Don't go getting a big head," he added, throwing his shoes into his wardrobe.

"A big head? I didn't know they grew too much."

Alex sighed and shook his head. "Don't worry."

Laura threw the pillow back at Alex. "Okay..." she smiled and walked back to her room. Soon enough, the apartment was still and silent.

* * *

The next morning, the adults were all too busy to amuse Laura and Alex, leaving the teenagers to find some form of entertainment by themselves. They quietly cleaned up around the place as Wolf and Eagle sat down to go over some paperwork. Jasmine left the apartment to go to a 'Girl's Day Out' with a few friends down south at a fancy resort.

After lunch, Wolf and Eagle had to leave for the office. They had to file some work and pick up a few important documents for their next assignment. The men walked out, leaving Laura and Alex sitting on one of the couches. As the door slammed behind them, Laura turned to Alex grinning.

"Wanna play a game?"

Alex smiled. "Sure! What game?"

"Spies!"

Alex didn't feel that it was a very safe game.

"Err...how do we play?" Alex asked, hoping it was nothing Laura couldn't handle – of course.

"Well, it's a bit like 44-home."

"44-home?" Alex asked, confused.

"Yeah. It's tag only you have to get to home and the person who is in has to count to 44 before opening their eyes and chasing."

"Oh."

"Yeah. So we have to pretend we are spies and tag the badies."

"But we _are_ spies!"

"So?"

Alex felt it completely ruined the purpose – _pretending_ to be spies when they were. Never the less, he went along with it. They ran around the apartment for a good few hours, toppling over things, almost breaking an expensive vase, ripping pillows off the couch, throwing things around, and climbing over tables.

"Look out!" Laura yelled, laughing. "There's one behind you!"

Alex turned, pretending to shoot an imaginary evil person behind him. They both laughed, Laura tripping over the edge of the kitchen tiles and almost falling into the wall. They chased each other around for a while, still chuckling like fools.

"Mercy!" Laura exclaimed, being cornered near a lounge.

Alex took a step closer and she took one back. Alex looked around for possible escape routes she could take. She could both dive over the back of the couch, duck around the bookcase and meet a table or she could run straight at him. Alex didn't like the sound of the last one.

"I give no mercy!" Alex said in his deepest voice, it being his turn to be the evil man trying to kidnap her.

Laura shrieked and made a break for it. She headed towards the bookcase but turned at the last second. In Alex's feeble attempt at avoiding a collision, he took a step back, leaving Laura free to run. She dove over the couch and landed on her feet near the rug. Just as she went to stand up straight, Jasmine walked in and frowned.

"Kids, I told you to stay off the décor."

Laura and Alex grinned at each other from different sides of the room.

"Where are Jackie and Jamie?" she asked, looking around and failing to spot them.

"Out...somewhere," Laura answered, sitting on the blue lounge next to Alex.

Jasmine nodded and walked away to put her bag down. Alex and Laura sniggered as soon as she was out of earshot. Within hours, the end of day four of Alex and Laura knowing each other came to an end. There was still five days until the start of the school year. Alex wished it wasn't coming up as fast as it was.

* * *

Over the next few days, the new 'family' became closer, learning more and more about each other. They now all had nicknames. Laura was just cut down to Laur, Alex was occasionally Al, Jasmine was Jazzy or Jazz, Jackson was just called Eagle by the kids and likewise with Jamie – Wolf.

When she had time, Jasmine would teach Laura etiquette so to impress the right people at her new school. She called up MI6 and asked for more details on the mission. All she ever was told back was 'That information is confidential. Please hold.' She didn't take it too well, starting to throw things around the room.

Alex tried his best to answer all her questions without blowing up – from 'Do people _really_ use computers for fun?' to 'What do you mean, crunchie? They didn't put chocolate on my hair, did they?' and when he tried to explain, things like 'So a crunchie is somebody who is blonde on the inside but brunette on the outside? How does that work?' were asked.

Wolf and Eagle taught her all the rules to French cricket, after she told them Australians play 'normal' cricket all the time and that they should 'grow some skills'.

But apart from just Alex and the adults teaching Laura things, she taught them a lot of things they never knew they didn't know. She taught the boys to play Australian Rules and taught Jasmine how to use a barbeque to cook sausages (which she called throwing some snags on the barbie) the Australian way. Laura introduced Vegemite to the group – only Alex and Eagle actually liking it enough to take another bite – and told them all about living on farms near the outback and near deserted beaches.

Alex came to realise Laura was taking a big effect on him. His language became much more...colourful and he was quickly picking up and understanding Australian slang. He also noticed that Laura trusted him more and even started to follow him around the apartment quite often. He couldn't say that he minded, he liked the extra attention, but it was probably not a good idea since the mission involved a lot of change on both of their parts.

* * *

On the day before school started, MI6 called Laura and Alex in once again just to check up on things. Mrs Jones was very surprised to see the teenagers getting along much better than she had first thought. Mr Blunt and his assistant were even more surprised to see Laura's new hair.

"Now, I understand you both have read the folders we have you. Is that correct?" Mrs Jones asked, popping a mint into her mouth and staring down at them as they sat in the new chairs she had ordered for Mr Blunts office.

Laura and Alex avoided her eye. She frowned and gave them two new files. They thanked her and quietly flipped through them. Mrs Jones walked over to Mr Blunt and they had a small whispered exchanging of words before they parted again. Mr Blunt shuffled a few papers before meeting Alex's eye.

"Now," the cold man said, looking between Laura and Alex, trying to piece together what he was going to say. "Would you like a brief run through on your mission?' He continued when they nodded. "So, it has recently come to MI6's attention that accidents have been happening more then usual at building sites than normal now that Mr Rogers has taken over as director of construction in a few different companies that branch off all over the place. As you know, we don't think there is such thing as coincidence."

"After his appointment as director, Mr Rogers has moved to London and has enrolled his children at a local school," Mrs Jones continued for him.

"Brookland," Alex said, closing the file and listening more closely than before. "My school."

"Yes. Unfortunately, that can't be helped," Mr Blunt said rather coldly, staring at Alex. "Joseph and Josephina Rogers aren't very nice people. We want you to get as close as you can to them, using their greatest weakness."

"Jealousy," Laura answered, sighing.

Mrs Jones nodded. "You two need to pretend you are..._together_...and be as popular as you possibly can. Now, as those files tell you, Joseph and Josephina are very different. Joseph goes for the very loud, curvy, ditzy, attractive girls. Laura, you should be able to pull it off with a bit of help." Alex scowled as he realised that Laura didn't even notice she was being insulted mildly. "And Josephina likes more of the shy, quiet, popular...err...smart and built kind of person."

Alex and Laura sniggered as Mrs Jones started to look a bit embarrassed about the whole ordeal. She unwrapped another mint and placed it on her tongue, trying not to catch their eye. Mr Blunt seemed to enjoy seeing her embarrassment and motioned for her to continue.

"Alex?"

"Mmm?"

"I hope you don't mind, but we put you down for the junior soccer team and Laura, you are now on their cheerleading team."

Alex smiled. He had always wanted to just be normal and be on the soccer team like a lot of the other boys. He would never admit it, but Alex was actually very good at it. He could definitely dodge, he could more than successfully kick and block and he was pretty good at planning and scoring.

"Cheerleading?" Laura questioned.

All the pairs of eyes in the room turned to her. Mrs Jones patiently explained to her that a cheerleader was somebody who was 'a support group' for the soccer players and they 'get the crowd pumped with adrenaline'. Laura soon understood the basic jist of it and Mr Blunt continued, happy with the level of embarrassment Mrs Jones had reached.

"So, I want you to get to school, become as popular as you can, make the Roberts jealous, get close to the twins, get to their house and take some important documents. We will give you further instruction and gear once you start getting close enough. Understand?"

Alex and Laura nodded. Mr Blunt dismissed them and they left, walking over to that café they had visited before. Strangely enough, they ordered the same thing – a garden salad and a white chocolate mocha.

* * *

On the first day of school, Laura woke up early from nerves. She ran into Alex's room and shook him awake.

"Come on Mr Bond! It's wakey time!" she chirped, snatching his blanket from him.

"Five more minutes..." he groaned, throwing his arms over his head as Laura opened the blinds to let light in.

Alex eventually woke up properly and glared at her. She ignored it and attempted to force him to have first shower. After a well-used twenty minutes, Alex was showered and dressed in his school uniform. Laura wasn't too far behind. All she needed to do was put her shoes on and do something with her, now straight, hair.

"Jassssssmiinnnnne! Jaaaaasssssssminnnnnnne!" Laura called from the bathroom mirror where she was standing next to Alex, trying to get help with her hair. Alex certainly wasn't going to do much good.

Jasmine popped up in the doorway yawning. "Yes, Laur?"

"I need help with my hair," she pouted, slamming her brush down. "It's not working."

"What's not working?" Jasmine asked, taking the brush from Laura and getting to work on her newly brown hair.

Alex slipped away, deciding to pack his school bag in case Laura needed any more help. There was still an hour and a half until school started and Alex had no doubt they would still be late if things kept going the same way they had for the last ten minutes of Laura's whinging. Once he had finished packing, he felt very kind and packed for Laura too, making sure she had her lucky charm (a kangaroo badge) and her MP3 player designed by Smithers.

"Okay, I think I'm ready," Laura said, staring at her self in the mirror as Alex walked back into the bathroom. Her hair was done simply in two braids. "How much time do we have left till school?" she asked, turning to face Alex properly and flicking him in the face with her hair as she did.

"Just under an hour until the first bell goes. We have a meeting to organise classes and have a bit of a talk first so we won't miss much if we are a tiny bit late."

"That's good. Jazz, Eagle and Wolf are all busy so we have to walk."

_Great_, Alex thought. _Now I have to watch her the whole way there so she doesn't get hit by a bus._

Laura and Alex walked out to the kitchen together and started trying to make some form of breakfast. No such luck. Eventually, Jasmine came to the rescue and made them some pancakes. They scoffed them down and Eagle tried to explain how to walk to Brookland School from the apartment blocks.

"So you go down the main road, across from the lights and back through the plaza."

Wolf raised an eyebrow. "Cub, you aren't seriously going to take Eagle's directions, are you?" he asked.

Alex shook his head. "Don't worry. I know the way pretty well."

The teenagers walked to the door after saying goodbye to Eagle and Wolf.

"Bye, my precious pumpkins!" Jasmine said, giving them both a very big hug. "Now Al, keep Laur safe. I don't want to have to get out of work to duck around to the hospital to sign forms or anything."

"I'll keep her safe!" Alex said, putting a spare key in his bag. "Bye!"

"Bye!" Jasmine called as Laura and Alex walked down the stairs. They heard the door close behind her and the stairway became eerily silent.

The kids walked out of the apartment block and down the street. Laura was fiddling with her skirt. Alex gave her a sideways glance and frowned. "What?" he asked.

"It's too short," she answered.

"Just ignore it. You'll get used to it. Plus, I reckon some of the other girls will have skirts even shorter."

"Really?"

"Really."

The two continued weaving through the streets and came to a crossing at a set of lights. Laura automatically grabbed Alex's hand (she read 'A Student's Guide to Walking Safely' and it told her to hold somebody's hand) as he pushed the button. After a few minutes, the green man flashed and they walked across with a few other kids wearing the same dull grey and blue uniform.

"Well, this is it," Laura said as they came to a stop at the school gates.

"Yep," Alex answered, swallowing.

"Bloody Hell."

* * *

**Word count (without notes):** 2994

**A/N:** Sorry for the last comment. Australian slang is very...colourful. Trust me, Australians use the word bloody in almost every second sentence. It isn't a swear word over here and it can be used anywhere. It doesn't even have to make much sense. Like 'Bloody oath' is the same as 'I agree'. See?

**This chapter's question (worth 25 words each):** What is the first thing that comes to your head when you think of Australia?

**My answer is:** BBQ's, Kangaroos, beer and a little blob far away from everything else.

I am going to bribe reviewers even further by saying you can all take your pick from Sirius Black, James Potter, Alex Rider and 'The HOT Guy From the Bus Stop'. Come on...you all know you want one!

RG

xox


	17. Joseph and Josephina

**Disclaimer:** Nope. Still not mine. I gave a quarter of that decaying marshmallow to my cat. He didn't like it one bit.

**Reviews from:** SharkiesGirl, I read not write, icyslumber, Battlecry4ever, cuteismeep, jessiepotter11390, and Queen Biatch, yotakehisuo174, Mrs. Jones, Jousting Elf with a Sabre, rid3r chick, CherubChick92, Ember-1331 and daseyfan.

**Words I have to reach:** 2900

**A/N:** Yes! We (You and I) made it to the 100th review! Thank you Queen Biatch who was my 100th reviewer. I'd like to thank everybody else for reviews too. We couldn't get there without you. You guys have a very good view on Australia. No matter how...colourful our language is, you guys still love us. So, Laura and Alex are back to school. Yay! Now, I don't really know what schools or teachers in Brookland are like so this one is going to be just like mine. Let's see what happens, shall we?

**IMPORTANT:** I'm starting to use the characters you guys made up for me. I am changing them around a bit, so you may have to look really hard to find yours. If anybody still wants to make one, you have about a week. Either send it in via a review or PM. Details are at the bottom of the page.

**

* * *

**

"Bloody Hell!"

"Come on. There is still twenty-five minutes until the bell. I want you to come meet my old friends," Alex said to Laura and he walked her over to a group of boys he used to hang around with.

First there was Tom. Laura had met him at the shopping centre. Tom was tall. He had black hair and a tendency to poke fun at people. Then there was Colin. Alex wasn't very close to him since he had caught him doing drugs. Colin was rather bulky and had a large nose. He was normally a very tolerable person apart from that. And last but not least was Kelvin Smith. Kelvin wasn't part of the group when Alex had left to do his last few missions, but he assumed he was now part just to make up numbers. Kelvin was short, podgy, slow and rather unhygienic. He always had something gross on his hands and he didn't brush his teeth.

"Hey guys!" Alex said rather nervously, coming up behind them.

The three turned and faced him. Tom beamed and Kelvin smiled sheepishly. Colin didn't look straight at Alex and looked rather uncomfortable.

"Alex!" Tom half-yelled and they high-fived. "Sup, Laura?" he added, giving her a flirtatious smile.

"Hi Tom," Laura said, crushing Alex's hand.

"Colin, Kelvin, this is Laura. Laura, this is Colin and Kelvin," Alex introduced, hoping Laura would relax a bit so he could grow old with both his hands in tact.

"Hi," Laura smiled and shook both their hands. Alex noticed her cautiously wipe her hand on her skirt after touching Kelvin's muddy little paws. He grinned to himself.

For the next few minutes, Laura told a little bit about herself to the three boys. She said she was an exchange student from Australia and that she lived somewhere in the city near Sydney. Of course, Alex - and Tom for the most part – knew it wasn't true. Kelvin and Colin weren't any the wiser.

Soon, a lot more people had arrived and were greeting each other like they hadn't seen each other for ten years. Tom went off to greet his girlfriend, Ashley Barns, and Colin and Kelvin went off to the library to 'check up' on something. Alex gave Laura's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"How you doin'?" he asked her as they started walking around the school from a lack of anything better to do.

Laura made an unsure noise. "I'm certainly scared," she laughed, swinging their arms.

"Come on, I'll show you around."

Alex pointed out most of the buildings and explained how the bells and sirens meant different things. When he next checked his watch, there were three minutes until the meeting. They walked back from the oval and came to the 'Indoor Basketball Courts' just in time. Alex recognised heaps of people and others he assumed were new. He saw no sign of Joseph and Josephina.

"Good morning, students!" Mr Dan boomed as they all filed in and sat around the room.

Mr Dan was their year advisor and the _Personal Development, Health and Physical Exercise_ teacher. It was a well known fact that he was an Ex U.S. Military Chopper Pilot. Mr (Dan) Dan was over six foot and had shaggy brown hair. Alex and the rest of the grade, as far as he knew, all got along with him. He was one of the nicer teaches. Alex pulled Laura up to where Tom and the group were sitting. They were about halfway up, looking down at the more studious students (sometimes called _nerds_) who liked to sit near the front at all times.

"Who's that?" Laura whispered, taking a seat on the bench between Tom and Alex.

"Mr Dan. We all call him Dan though. He's our year advisor."

The students fell silent after a while and Laura finally let go of Alex's hand. He was certainly relieved to notice the blood flow hadn't completely stopped. Mr Dan waited for some of the kids up the back to quieten down completely before starting.

"Welcome, or welcome back, to Brookland School!" The kids let of a very loud applause and a few even screamed and stomped. Mr Dan laughed. "I'm glad you are all excited. Now...put your hand up if you are new this year or only recently came!"

Laura put her hand up shyly and looked around for any other arms in the air. There were quite a few more than normal, Alex noticed.

"Okay, could those kids please come down the front here?"

Laura stood up and bit her bottom lip. Alex clenched his fist as she walked away and some guy tried to grab her bottom. Once she was down there, she seemed to relax a bit as she noticed there were five or six others in the same position. Alex studied the faces. He easily picked out Joseph and Josephina.

"Alright then, would you all like to introduce yourselves in the interest of 'getting to know' everybody?"

Before any of the other kids could introduce themselves, somebody spoke up, sounding incredibly bored and ignorant. "No. Thanks."

Mr Dan turned to the boy who had spoken. He was taller than most of the students and looked much older. He had dirty blonde hair, grey eyes, a strong stance and a cocky attitude. Joseph.

"Shut up, Rogers!" Mr Dan said and frowned. "One more word without permission and you'll be told to sit down."

"Fine with me!" Joseph exclaimed, folding his arms and winking at one of the giggly girls near the back.

"That's it!" Mr Dan yelled, blowing up. He pointed to a chair near the exit. "Go! Sit down now before I kick your sorry behind over there _myself_."

Joseph smirked. He unfolded his arms and slowly walked over to the chair before turning it to face the wall and straddling it. He waved at one of his new friends sitting near Alex. Mr Dan sighed and turned away, slowly rolling his eyes.

"Hmm...you!" He pointed at one of the girls who were half hiding from him in the small cluster of new people. "Introduce yourself."

The girl shyly stepped forward and smiled nervously. She had tanned skin and dark, frizzy hair. She wasn't the most attractive girl Alex had seen, but she wasn't too hideous either. "Hi!" she said rather shakily. "My name is Indy Forest and I just moved here from New Jersey in the States."

"Boo!" Joseph called from his seat. Everybody turned to face him. "Get lost, _America_!"

About ninety percent of the kids laughed – a few even going as far as to point at Indy. Mr Dan shot them a death glare and motioned for the girl to continue.

"Ermm...this is my first day here, and I'm enjoying it so far," she lied, a blush creeping up her face.

Alex felt sorry for the poor girl. It was her first day at a new school, in a new country and already somebody had made fun of her. He already hated Joseph. But, he could barely recognise Indy's accent. It was virtually non-existent.

"Well, that's lovely. Just take a seat near the front there while we get through the other kids and I'll pair you up with somebody as a buddy," Mr Dan said gently and pointed to a row of seats near the left side of the hall that was half deserted. The girl walked over and gratefully sat down. "Next is...how 'bout you?" He pointed at one of the boys.

"Hey, I'm Felix Polden, and I was expelled from my last school on the other side of London. Err...I like soccer...yeah," he trailed off. Felix was tall, slim and looked rather fragile. He had pitch-black hair that was spiked up and he had bright green eyes. Alex's first thought on him was that he was rebellious. But now, Felix was starting to remind him of a cat he had seen on a "LOST" sign.

Felix sat down and Mr Dan's gaze landed on Laura. "Would you like to introduce yourself, missy?" he asked, bending down to her level. Laura bit her bottom lip and shook her head. Everybody chuckled. Mr Dan smiled at her and whispered something in her ear that nobody else heard. Laura smiled, nodded and then beamed up at Alex.

"Hi!" she said really confidently. "My name is Laura Nickleson and I flew here from Australia the other week." The students all burst into chatter but Laura pressed on. "I speak ten different languages, I'm pretty new to the whole..._city_ thing since I've lived in rural Australia my whole life and...I eat vegemite." The kids all laughed as she sat down.

"She's nuts, isn't she?" Tom asked Alex as Mr Dan tried to quieten everybody down again.

"Yeah, pretty much," Alex answered, smiling at Laura as she swivelled her head to wave at him. A few people had been watching her and carefully followed her gaze. They frowned at Alex but didn't have time to ask questions seeing as Mr Dan had finished convincing one of the girls out the front to talk and ordered silence.

The next girl was also short but she looked much more serious than Laura. "Good morning. My name is Alicia Prince and my parents just went through a divorce and now I am living with my Dad just around the corner. I'm aiming to become a musician when I leave school and...yeah...that's about it."

"Okay, take a seat." Alicia went to sit down and Mr Dan looked around. "Okay, one left. You take it from here."

Josephina. She wasn't as tall as Joseph, but she wasn't much shorter than Alex and Tom either. Her hair was a dark blonde and it was styled up neatly. Her eyes were grey like Joseph's but hers were surrounded by eyeliner and the rest of her face was caked with makeup. Her skirt was very short and her top was tighter than the other girls'.

"Hey," she said in a very girly voice. "I'm Josephina but you can all call me Josie. I like apples, I hate body odour and I wish I had two ponies, not just the one."

Josephina wiggled off to the side and sat down, examining her nails just like that girl at Laser Quest had. Alex grimaced to himself. If he had to be involved with that..._thing_, he was sure the mission would be a lot harder than he had first thought. Then again, he was much happier that this mission didn't involve guns and high death risks.

"Alright then, that's all of us!" Mr Dan said. He then turned in the direction of Joseph who was pretending to snore. "You can get your arse back over here if you behave."

"Yes, Miss," Joseph answered, smirking.

Mr Dan scowled. He ignored it otherwise and turned to face the new students. "Okay, Laura, Indy, Felix and Alicia, you'll be partnered in just a minute. Does anybody want to volunteer to show these kids around?' Mr Dan yelled over the noise.

Alex, Tom, Kelvin, Colin and a few others put their hands up. Joseph put his foot up. Another burst of laughter echoed throughout the hall. Alex felt himself clench his fists with anger.

Mr Dan stormed up to Joseph and grabbed the front of his shirt. "One more snide comment or inappropriate action and I'll have a letter written to your mother." Mr Dan released Joseph's shirt with a violent tug and Joseph's neck cracked with a sickening snap.

Alex winced despite himself. He knew pain when he saw it. Once Mr Dan cooled down, he re-asked the students if anybody would like to volunteer, and this time only Alex and Tom put their hands up. Mr Dan frowned.

"Okay, you two will do." He gestured for them to join him down the front.

As Alex sifted his way down to where Laura and the other students were sitting, he heard whispers.

"-drug addict-"

"-never comes to school. I reckon that-"

"-I always thought he was kidnapped by that guy who-"

"-kinda cute-"

"-knows that new girl. Laura, was it? I'm not-"

"-they say he is really snobby and sometimes he'll-"

Alex tried to ignore it, but it still got to him. Once he reached the front, Laura immediately smiled at him and he instantly felt better. At least he still had one good friend left. Mr Dan paired Indy and Laura up and told Josephina to go and sit back down since she had already been attending long enough to know most of her way around. He then assigned Tom to stick with Alicia and Felix while Alex went with the other two.

"Okay, I just want you to direct them to their classes and show them around a bit. Maybe even introduce them to all their teachers. You don't have to follow them around the whole day, but keep an eye out, alright?" Alex and Tom nodded. "Good. I'll hand out all the timetables now so just take a seat for a moment."

They did as they were told and Mr Dan ordered the pupils' attention again. It took half an hour to hand all the timetables out, giving the kids time to all catch up a bit and giving Alex time to study Joseph and Josephina for a few minutes before they were lost in the crowd.

Laura and Indy seemed to get along quite well. They were chatting like a couple of old friends whenever Alex tuned in to their conversations. By the time Mr Dan had organised everybody, answered questions and followed up any problems, it was recess. None of the kids were complaining. One less class wasn't going to do much harm.

"What bell was that?" Indy asked rather hurriedly while they all emptied out of the hall.

"Just the bell for recess," Alex answered, smiling at her.

"Oh!" Indy sighed. "That's good. What now?"

"Well..." Laura said, looking around. "Err...Alex? What next?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "We have something to eat, we have a bit of a run around or a chat and then when the bell goes again, we go back to class."

"Sounds fun. At my old school, we just hung out." Indy flicked her hair over her shoulder once she had finished.

Alex surveyed her thoughtfully. "Who's up for a game?" Laura and Indy perked up. "Okay, let's play hide and seek! This version has 'home' too." Alex dumped his school bag down near a shady tree around the corner of the canteen and the girls followed suit.

"Who's counting?" Laura asked, looking between Alex and Indy.

"I will then," Indy said. She turned to face the tree and closed her eyes. "One. Two. Three..."

Alex and Laura both turned and sprinted away. Laura headed towards the library and Alex followed to make sure she didn't get lost or find herself in trouble. They hid behind a thick bush where they could peek through the branches and see where Indy was counting. They both crouched down and watched their new friend. After about twenty seconds, and Laura kicking a football away after it had wandered off of the oval, Indy turned away from the tree and started looking around.

"I _love_ this game!" Laura said.

"Yeah, I used to play it all the time with my friends but I haven't lately," Alex said back, watching as Indy started wandering in the opposite direction. "Wanna make a break for it?" he asked.

Laura shook her head. "Not yet. You see how she is only wandering a few steps and then turning?"

"Mmmm...?"

"Well, that's because she hasn't yet decided where she wants to go. Wait until she is the same distance as us away, give or take a few meters, and then sprint."

"Alright. Is she far enough away yet?"

"Err...yeah. Go!"

Alex and Laura stood up and dashed up to the tree. Indy didn't even spot them once until they had made it safely back. Alex and Laura panted for a bit before it was Indy's turn to count again. This time, Alex and Laura split up. Alex hid behind a large group of people nearby while Laura skilfully positioned herself behind a skinny bush on the opposite side of home than Alex.

They both waited for Indy to wander away a bit until they decided to run. Unfortunately, Indy had become a little smarter and found them as they were both making a break for it. She ran back to the tree just as both Alex and Laura were both about ten metres away. She had a choice to go for either of them. Alex took a step closer, so did Laura. Indy was torn between running for Laura who was a little slower than Alex but was closer or going for Alex who seemed to be the easiest option even though he was really fast.

"Ahh!" she said, laughing. "I can't pick!"

Alex and Laura both smiled and started stepping sideways. They slowly moved until they were almost touching.

"One...two," Alex whispered under his breath. "Three...four..."

Indy sprinted towards them. Seconds before she reached them, both Alex and Laura sidestepped and narrowly avoided her. By the time Indy had turned to chase them, her friends had almost reached the tree and there was no point.

"Aww...guys!" Indy whined with a smile on her face. "You are too good!"

"I know!" Laura said and grinned. "I'm hungry!"

"Alright," Alex said, starting to walk back to their bags. "Let's grab something to eat before class starts again."

"Yeah..."

The three sat down and started eating. Laura had an apple, Indy had a banana and Alex had a packet of chips. He shared them around before they started on their fruit. While they were eating, Alex looked around. He could see Josephine sitting with a few girls he recognised from the cheerleading team as well as Ashley, Tom's girlfriend. He briefly wondered where Tom had taken Felix and Alicia but he didn't have time to look.

Joseph and his mates had come up behind them and weren't looking too happy.

* * *

**Word count (without notes):** 3019

**Word count I needed to reach:** 2900

**A/N:** Another one up! Hurray for me! So, as I was saying, I am including new characters if anybody is interested. They may not turn out how you wanted, but I'm doing the best I can. So, if you want one just fill out these questions (I included an example):

Name: Bobby Krait

Age: 14

Appearance: Black hair, blue eyes and very fat.

Status: Student

Interesting Fact: Likes Laura.

Extra: Has a fixation with cheese.

See? So, yeah. If you are interested I am right here. Also, I am going to rewrite the first ten or so chapters, so if anybody would like to help and actually has the time, that would be lovely. I will probably notify everybody once I rewrite, but you really don't have to read it if you don't want.

**This chapter's question (not worth anything this time because I have holidays and I am very busy. But...if you are lovely I will include extra words!):** Are you a boy or a girl?

**My answer:** I'm a girl.

Yeah, I know, so easy. But, seriously. It is interesting to know how many of each gender actually read this. So, there you have it. I will update soon. I get my report tomorrow! I am coming 138th in my grade at maths out of 150. Who's a slacker? I am! Wish me luck with my mark!

RG

xox


	18. Coke and Calls

**Disclaimer:** I own one copy of each of the Alex Rider books. BUT, that doesn't mean I actually _think_ I own it. That marshmallow is still around somewhere, though.

**Reviews from:** SharkiesGirl, AD, Pocket Quasar, I read not write, icyslumber, Jousting Elf with a Sabre, jessiepotter11390, babyee-bex43, Ember-1331, Battlecry4ever, CreativeBeauty, blonde-biatch, Harry, yotakehisuo174 and vampassassin.

**Words to reach:** 3000

**Author's Note:** Hooray! We reached a record of 15 reviews for last chapter. That's amazing, guys. Well done! (I know, I'm overreacting) I have received some very impressive character ideas from quite a few people. Don't forget, you still have two or so chapters to come up with one and review it in or PM me.

I just bought the next three Alex Rider books and read them all in two days. No sleep at all. Oh, and I'm thinking of writing another Alex Rider fic. That, or (okay, don't kill me for mentioning it and not going through with it, but I still have time to make up my mind) a sequel for Mission Improbable.

Okay, so I rewrote chapter 1 and 2, but chapter 2 didn't have much of a change at all. I have two lovely helpers who are helping with 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10. I really appreciate it. So I want you all to thank Ember-1331 and baybee-bex43 who are helping. I still have a few more chapters that you guys can help out with if you want. I think 8, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 are still available. Yes, I raised the amount I want to fix. Don't worry, I'm going to notify you all on who did what so you can praise the right people.

So where were we? Oh yeah. Joseph and his gang have just shown up. Well, enjoy. I know it took quite a while to write so I want you all to put in some criticism. Good or bad. I don't mind.

**RELATIVELY IMPORTANT:** This chapter especially took a long time because somebody decided to PM me a whole load of insults and said things like 'U r making ppl rite 4 u coz u suck' and 'I h8 u!'. Well, that brought my self esteem right down and I barely found the courage to update. It hurt. If anybody feels that way too, tell me in a review. But, why the Hell are you still reading if you hate it?

* * *

_Joseph and his mates had come up behind them and weren't looking too happy._

All up, there were about eight of them. Joseph, six members of the football team and a boy Alex remembered as the drummer in the school band.

"Oi! Rider!" Joseph said, standing in front of Alex.

Alex briefly wondered how he knew his name before standing up and holding his ground. "Yes, Rogers?" Alex said, flicking his fringe out of his eyes with a move of his head.

"Get your girlfriend over there to hand me the apple."

Alex looked down at Laura. She had her teeth halfway through the next bite of her green apple. "What do you want it for?" she asked as she swallowed.

"My sister, Josie, likes apples."

Laura looked around the group and saw Josephine holding a red apple and enjoying every bite of it. "It seems like she already has one. Why would she want another?"

Joseph crouched down to her level and spat on the ground beside her. "It doesn't matter what she already has. It matters what she wants, don't it?"

Alex swooped down and grabbed the collar of Joseph's shirt, pulling him back up. Joseph made no move to release his hand. He just stared at Alex in shock.

Joseph sneered. "Who do you think you are?" he said.

Alex frowned. "Pardon?"

"I said, who do you think you are?"

Alex's eyes flickered over to Laura and Indy. They were both standing up now, Indy positioned slightly behind Laura and Laura glaring at one of the boys. Alex turned back to Joseph and inconspicuously taking a defence stance without letting go. "I'm Alex," he replied in the most obvious way he could.

Joseph's sneer didn't falter once. "Where have you been these last few weeks?"

"Around."

Joseph gestured to the playground as a whole. "They tell me you have been dealing drugs. Is that true?"

"No."

Joseph laughed. "Aww look, boys. Little bitty Rider thinks he can lie."

The first punch came from Alex, knocking Joseph's head backwards with a crack. Alex let go of his collar and pushed him roughly backwards. The first kick was also from Alex, winding Joseph and leaving him lying on the grass, purple-faced, clutching at his stomach. Neither of them noticed the teacher ten meters away.

"Get them!" the crippled boy hissed to his friends.

Laura took on three of them at once. Luckily for her, they were probably the three weakest. Alex took on the four biggest guys from the football team. Most likely the defence players. Laura knocked her three to the ground with a series of kicks and punches, the heels on her new school shoes coming in handy. Alex wasn't as lucky. He managed to wind one of the smaller boys with a very heavy kick but the other two weren't as easy to break.

"Nickleson! A little help!" Alex said, dodging a punch from one of them.

But Laura was on the floor, wrestling with Joseph who had most of his breath back. Alex swore and dodged another punch. He crouched down low and grabbed an ankle of each of the boys he was fighting.

"What...?" one grunted, bewildered.

With a strong pull, Alex brought them both crashing to the ground, unconscious. Indy was trying to fight off two of the boys Laura had first fought and was doing a good job. People in the playground had noticed what was going on and were forming a circle around the two groups fighting. None of them made any move to help. Josephina was even laughing.

One of the kids spoke up. "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

The rest soon caught on and the sound of the word 'Fight!' was starting to echo around the playground.

"Alex!" Laura squealed. Alex had time to look at her for a second. Joseph was underneath her, desperately trying to throw her off. Laura had her hands wrapped around his neck. There wasn't much Alex could do. He was preoccupied with five of the football players.

His ears picked up the sound of the chant. But now, it wasn't 'Fight!'. It was now 'Alex!'. Alex grinned. Maybe getting the popularity his mission needed wasn't going to be as hard as he first thought.

"I bet he learnt that at prison!" a short, young boy said in astonishment as Alex knocked two of the boys out my ramming their heads together effortlessly.

Alex's grin widened. All the encouragement from the crowd seemed to be making the opponents weaker and Alex stronger. Alex knocked the next two out the same way, amazed that they hadn't figured out what he was doing.

"Mr Rider!" Somebody was pushing their way to the front and Alex was shocked to see the assistant principal, Mr Prince, appear in the crowd. Mr Prince was average height, average build and had greasy, black hair. He was normally very different from the other teachers. For one, he didn't get angry easily and he didn't seem to have a temper at all.

Alex felt the colour drain out of his face. While he had been fighting Joseph and his friends, he hadn't thought once about being seen by a teacher or getting in trouble. Now...he was worried.

"Yes, Mr Prince?"

Mr Prince finally broke through the crowd and stood in front of Alex. He didn't look too happy at all. "What was all that about, Mr Rider?"

"I...we...err..."

Mr Prince's frown changed into a grin. "That was fully awesome!" Mr Prince grabbed Alex's hand and shook it. "Where did you learn that?"

"I...err..." Alex wasn't sure how to answer. Thankfully, Mr Prince had already turned away and was peering down at the pile of teenagers that Laura had neatly made with all the unconscious and seriously injured bodies.

Mr Prince shook his head. "Boys, boys, boys. That was a very weak performance. Especially since you are all on the football team. Oh, except for you, Benny. You are just a very bad drummer with a hair problem." Benny ran a hand over his head. "Unfortunately, that means I have to give you all a detention."

Mr Prince turned and walked back through the crowd, telling the children crowding around to 'get lost!'. Alex kicked himself. Getting a detention was not a good thing at Brookland School. Especially on the first day back when Mrs Dowetty, the evilest of all the teachers at the school, would surely take the detentions. He also felt bad that he had pulled Laura and Indy into the situation. He felt especially bad for Indy, though. First day at school, in a new country, already in detention and probably now has a large amount of enemies.

Alex turned to Laura and Indy as the boys they had fought all ran off with the rest of the crowd. "I'm sorry, guys. I didn't mean to get you in trouble with me. I didn't think. Will you forgive me?"

But the girls were grinning. "That was the most fun I've ever had at school!" Indy said as the bell rang and they grabbed their bags.

"That was so awesome!" Laura agreed whilst shaking her head enthusiastically.

Alex chuckled. "Alright. But I don't want to find you two fighting because you found it fun. I don't think the teachers and parents will be very happy."

As Alex walked with the two girls to the science labs, which had been rebuilt after his little escapade with a clone, he realised something. Both he and Laura were orphans. He was angry with himself for not realising sooner. He guessed it was because there was so much in common between the two of them that it didn't really matter anyway.

He sighed to himself and climbed the last of the stairs up to the classroom. Luckily, Indy, Laura and Alex were all in the same base classes. It definitely helped. Of course, Laura was in almost all of his classes and those that she wasn't, she was with the twins. Alex was quite angry that MI6 were taking control of what electives she chose. What if she didn't want to do Design with Josephina or Mechanics with Joseph?

Alex sat down between Indy and Laura in the middle row. The teacher looked up from her spot at the teachers' desk and smiled before going back to her book once again. Alex had never met her before. Alex frowned at the top of her head and started pulling his books out, stopping to help Laura get her hair out from where it was stuck in her bag's zipper. He saw Joseph and Josephina walk in and turned away, hoping they wouldn't try to cause any more trouble. They walked straight to the back as the teacher stood up.

"Good morning class! I'm Miss Brown and I've just started here. I hope you'll give me the same respect you give your other teachers, because if you don't, there will be a lot of yelling from me."

Alex stared at her for a moment. She was plump, short and had heavy makeup all over her face. Alex winced. She wasn't a pretty site.

"So if you'll open your books to page 14..."

* * *

The first day back at school went slowly. Too slowly. Alex felt that the time completely stopped for minutes at a time. After Science, they had English and then lunch and then Maths. Thankfully, Joseph, or any of his group, for that matter, didn't approach the little group of Alex, Laura and Indy. There were only seconds left until the bell would ring and they would be free.

_26 seconds left._

"And that, children, is how you find out the square route of four unit numbers. Any questions?"

_20 seconds left._

"No? Okay then lets do one more..."

The class all groaned. Not more!

"Oh. You don't want anymore?" the teacher asked, disappointed.

15 seconds left.

"Okay. Well..." She looked at her watch. "I guess you can all have an early mark."

The class immediately started packing up as fast as they could.

"Wait a minute! Only if somebody can answer this question."

Another groan echoed around the yellow-painted walls of maths room 3.

"How about you, Mr Rider?"

Alex looked up from where he was shoving his books into his bag. He didn't mind answering. He normally always got them right and was frequently picked on. Mainly because he was always right where the teacher was looking. It wasn't just a coincidence, either. The teachers liked to gossip about him and they all knew his name.

"Yes, Miss?"

She quickly wrote an equation on the black board. "Answer this..."

It was a hard one. Luckily it was all what he had learnt today, nothing he had missed. "17."

The teacher nodded and all the kids stood up to leave.

_10 seconds left._

It wasn't much of an early mark, but it was one none the less.

"Phew!" Laura gasped as the class all exited the maths block. "That was a long day."

"Yeah," Alex and Indy agreed at the same time, causing them all to laugh and grin.

"Well, I'll see you all later!" Indy called as she skipped out of the gates and around the corner.

"Bye!" Alex and Laura replied as the bell rang, waving to her back.

They both turned to face the road and Joseph pushed his way past. He had a sour look on his face and was looking very grumpy. Josephina rolled her eyes at him as they hopped on their brand new bikes. Alex noticed the rest of the class watching them in awe. The twins were riding brand new, top of the range bikes. They were shiny and silver, glinting in the sun.

Laura muttered something under her breath as everybody walked over to the bus stop. Alex and Laura were somewhere around the middle of the line. It wasn't the greatest if you wanted good seats, but it would do. They had been standing there for only moments when a black limo pulled up at the bus stop.

"Wow!" Laura whispered to Alex. "I sure wish I had one of those."

"I know what you mean."

More kids were flowing out of the school gates; they all noticed the limousine standing in the bus bay. The door started opening and everybody watched on. A leg hit the ground, coming out of the front passenger seat. Somebody stepped out and the crowd gasped. They were tall, dark and wearing a stylish, new, leather jacket. The reached up and slowly pulled their sunglasses off. Laura grinned.

"Miss Nickleson, Mr Rider."

"Hello, Lionel," Laura beamed, hitching her bag up into a more comfortable position.

"_Hop in_."

Those two, simple words sent a whisper through the crowd.

"The limo was for _that Rider kid and his chick_!" one of the older students said ignorantly. "Those kids have style!"

Alex and Laura stepped up to the limo and Lionel took their bags and walked around to the back of the car. Alex held the car door open for Laura and she slid in, gasping in amazement. Alex got in a few seconds later, closing the door just as the boot came down.

"Cool!"

The limo was magnificent. It was black on the outside, black on the inside and there were red, carpeted floors. Very swish. The windows were tinted so nobody could look in. At least, they hoped as Laura made faces at some of the students. Lionel slid back into the vehicle and the engine started.

"Good evening, passengers, this is your escort speaking. Please put on your seatbelts and enjoy the ride!" Lionel said cheerily through the loud speaker. "If you have any questions, please push the green button near your heads and speak clearly."

Laura and Alex looked around madly. There were quite a lot of buttons around. Luckily, there was only one green one.

"Oh, and please do not touch the mini bar. I still think you are underage, no matter how mature you pretend to be."

Laura and Alex sniggered as Lionel's voice faded and the limo drove away from the school gates. They definitely weren't expecting anybody to pick them up, let alone in a limo. Added bonus, Alex guessed. And he couldn't say he minded in the slightest. He thought it was time MI6 gave something back.

"This is so cool!" Laura exclaimed. Alex laughed at her. The grin still hadn't left her face and they were almost back to where they were staying. "Hey, Lionel?" she asked, pressing the green button.

"Yes?" a voice asked, echoing through the small room in which they were sitting.

"Can you pick us up and drop us off to and from school every day?" she asked hopefully.

Lionel paused. "Of course! I have nothing else to do. Anyway, I'm practically your official chauffer for this mission. Ask for what ever else you want, too."

Laura smiled and pressed the button again. "Thanks!" she let go and lent back into her leather seat, still looking around in amazement. Alex grinned at her. Once she noticed, a frown appeared. "What?" she laughed.

Alex turned away. "Nothing..."

Laura gripped his arm. "What?"

Alex smiled. "You have grass in your hair," he sniggered, pointing at her head.

She frowned and started pulling it out. "How'd that get there?"

Alex shrugged. "Not sure."

The limo pulled up out of the front of the apartment block and they walked past the door man who smiled and opened the doors for them. They both muttered their thanks and walked over to the bottom of the stairs. Lionel was just coming inside. Laura turned to Alex and they shared a meaningful glance.

"One..." Laura said.

"Two..." said Alex.

"Three!"

They both threw their school bags on the ground and sprinted up the stairs. Laura was in the lead to start off with, being on the inside of the spiral staircase. Alex attempted to overtake her on each flight until he finally succeeded on flight six outside apartment number 19. He made a dash for the right apartment, leaving an already puffing Laura in his wake.

"I won!" Alex shouted as he reached the door.

Laura walked up to him and collapsed against the door. "You are too good."

"I know."

"Well, you try it in shoes like these!" she complained, pointing to her feet.

Lionel's head appeared at the top of the stairs. He was carrying their bags, shaking his head. "You kids need to act more your age." He was trying to be serious, but the smile tugging at his mouth gave it away.

Laura smiled and rolled her eyes. "I'm too young to not have fun."

He pulled out a set of keys from his leather jacket and opened the apartment for them, following them I and setting their bags in the closet near the door. "Take care. I got a message from a lady named Jasmine. She said she'll be home at around four. Don't let anybody know you are home alone. Bye!"

Before they could say goodbye, he had closed the door and locked it behind him in case of robbers. Laura and Alex headed for the kitchen first, dying for a drink after running up stairs as fast as they could.

"Lionel is nice," Laura commented, opening the fridge and looking inside. "I think I trust him enough for him to hang around."

Alex nodded. "Yeah, he is a pretty cool guy. I hope he stays around."

Laura remerged, holding a bottle of Coke. She pulled out two glasses and looked at Alex expectantly. When he didn't do anything she sighed. "You know I can't pour."

Alex smirked. He was waiting for her to try it just for a laugh, but she obviously wasn't going to. He carefully poured the Coke out of the can and let Laura pick first. It was one of their many rules of getting along. If you break or pour, the other person gets to choose first. I assured even amounts of whatever they were getting.

The two had heaps of other rules that they had decided on silently. Like if you wake the other up, they get to pick between first and second shower. Or, if you picked dinner, the other chose desert. It was all very simple and civilised. They had barely fought over the week they had been staying together.

* * *

That night, Alex called Jack. She didn't have much time to talk – they were going out to dinner and a show – but Alex liked to hear the sound of her voice.

"How are you?" she asked.

Alex shrugged before realising she couldn't see. "I'm good."

"Been staying out of trouble?"

"Yes."

"Had fun back at school?"

"Meh."

"Gotten into any fights?"

Alex paused. It felt like she knew. "No," he lied.

"That's good. I'll call you tomorrow."

Alex gave her the number that would reach the apartment and said goodbye. As he put the phone down, Laura tumbled into the room.

"Look what I can do, Al!"

He watched as she did a handstand. "That's clever," he said as encouragingly as he could.

"Yeah. Jassie said I should learn it if I wanted to get into the cheerleading team. What else do you think I should learn?"

They spent the rest of the night doing all sorts of acrobats. Laura was getting better, but she was still unsure of herself, causing more spills than necessary.

But, that's okay, Alex thought. At least she's trying.

* * *

**Words to reach:** 3000

**Words I reached (not including notes):** 3253

**Author's note:** Yay! Another one up and it's the longest yet! Okay, I'm trying my best to get to the action, but it's been hard since I live in a community with little violence to learn from. Maybe I should hire some gangster films...

**This chapter's question:** Which Alex Rider books have you read?

**My answer:** All of them.

Okay, it'll be worth 50 words. Just because of lateness. The reason I want to know is because I don't really have any idea where this fic is set. After or before Ark Angel. It might not even have anything to do with the already written books, but it is useful to know. Again, you'll receive 200 words for each review. I am trying to break a record. Let's see how many chapters I can get for this chapter. Try and beat 15. Come on! You can do it!

RG

xox


	19. Falls and Fights

**Disclaimer:** I don't own. I also ate that marshmallow in a desperate urge for food. I was quite sick for a while later.

**Reviews From: **Mufasa Lives On, vampassassin, cuteismeep, RugbyRock, AD, Josephine18, Battlecry4ever, jessiepotter11390, I read not write, Jousting Elf with a Sabre, Torture, Anonymous-chic, Pocket Quasar, rid3r chick, Okami, J.J.Taylor, Ajii, yo., MASKED AXE MURDERER, crazy-gal-in-blue, KeladryOalanna, icyslumber, SharkiesGirl, liz22463, yotakehisuo174 and Maltrkx.

**Words to reach: **(22 times 100 equals...)2200 plus (18 times 50 for answering the question...) 900 equals 3100 words.

3100 words!

**Author's Note:** Okay. So I changed from 200 words a review to 100 because I can't possibly fit it into the plot (I also stopped counting anonymous reviews so I don't get spammed). I attempted this chapter twice with the before amount of words (which was quite a lot) but it just didn't work. Alas, that is why I have taken so long to update. So, from this point on, it's 100 words a review. Yeah, hopefully it'll work. If I get less than 20 reviews, I'll probably add words myself. Sorry for an inconvenience.

Thanks to your responses, I have finally set a timing for this story. After Snakehead. What ever happens in it may make it AU, but I don't care right now. –grin-

Sorry for the wait. I hated it, personally. I hope this chapter makes up for it.

**P.S. Rabbitohs made it to the semis for the first time in 19 years. Unfortunately they lost.**

* * *

_They spent the rest of the night doing all sorts of acrobats. Laura was getting better, but she was still unsure of herself, causing more spills than necessary._

But, that's okay, _Alex thought_. At least she's trying.

* * *

The next morning, Alex was woken up, yet again, by Laura. He was quietly lying in bed with his eyes closed when he started hearing a pattern in the noises from the large apartment. 

_Breath, thud, louder thud, scramble. Breath, thud, louder thud, scramble._

He turned over and tried to block it out.

_Breath, thud, louder thud, scramble._

He opened one eye as slowly as he could. The light stung but he could see properly after a few seconds. It was Laura doing summersaults on the carpeted floor of his room.

"Laur, do you have to do this in my room? It's annoying me."

She beamed up at him from the floor where she had toppled over on hearing his voice. "Hey, Alex. Lovely morning, ain't it?"

"Murff..."

_Breath, thud, louder thud, scramble._

"Do you have to do that in here?" Alex snapped, sitting up and running a hand through his already messy hair.

She stood up and smirked. "Guess what day it is!"

"Err...Tuesday?"

Laura waved her arms around, her eyes brows raised. "And...?"

Alex shook his head. "I have no idea.'

"It's Jasmine's birthday!"

Alex froze. He'd never been told. "What-ha-why-ha?"

Laura giggled. "You're funny when you've just woken up."

Alex rolled his eyes. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Laura beamed and sat on Alex's bed, unfortunately sitting on his knees. "It's Jasmine's birthday today. I was supposed to tell you but I didn't."

"Why didn't you?" he asked, yawning.

"'Cause I was preoccupied."

"With what?"

"Wolf, Eagle and Jasmine went to hospital."

Alex froze. "WHAT?! Why?" If something had happened to them, he was going to throttle the girl slowly cutting off his leg circulation.

Laura smiled again. How could she be so God damn happy? "Well, they went to visit a guy called Snake, and they said I had to look after you, you big baby!" She finished her sentence as she pinched his cheek.

Alex slapped her hand away and sighed. "And why didn't you tell me this last night?"

She stood up again and Alex silently thanked her. He was starting to loose feeling in his leg. "Well, I was going to, but you look so cute in your sleep! Like a little baby on sleeping pills."

"Right. I'm sure I do."

She nodded. "Now, put a shirt on and come make breakfast. I'm not touching the kitchen."

* * *

Breakfast was a disaster. Alex had had a quick shower and got dressed into his uniform in record speed. He had walked to the kitchen to find Laura laughing. 

"Err, what are you giggling at?" he had asked.

"Oh, just that I dropped the milk carton and now it's all over the floor."

Great. Perfect. Brilliant. _Divine_!

Alex swore under his breath and pulled a mop out of the closet. He forced Laura to mop up while he grabbed another carton and got to work on breakfast. Cereal. Foolproof. Well, except maybe Laura. They ate in silence until Alex noticed the time and all but pushed Laura into the shower.

"Hey! Watch it!" Laura groaned mockingly and Alex half picked her up off the floor and led her to the bathroom.

He grunted and shut the door behind her. "Be out in ten minutes or I won't buy you a lolly!"

* * *

Laura was skipping in front of him, her pony tail bobbing in and out of his sight. They had politely refused Lionel's offer to drive them to school and decided to walk. Alex promised him he would keep them both safe. That didn't stop him following them in the limo. In and out her hair swayed, slowly getting him more and more irritated. 

"Allllleeeeeexx!" she called, coming to a halt.

"What, Laur?" he responded, faking cheeriness. Breakfast had already put Laura on his temporary 'Hate' list.

"You owe me a lolly, remember?"

He sighed. "No, I don't."

"Yeah!" she insisted. "I can remember you saying that if I had a shower in ten minutes I would get a lolly."

"Yeah!" he agreed. "But-" She frowned. "You took twelve minutes. No lolly for you!"

She glared at him. After a few moments she pouted. "Please?"

He sighed. "No, Laura. You need to learn some discipline."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"I said, no."

"Pretty please with ice cream and a cherry on top?"

"I don't eat cherries," he lied.

"Please."

He sighed again. Resistance was futile. "Alright. But just this once."

Laura smiled and ran into the sweet shop. Alex signalled to Lionel that they were going in the shop. Lionel had already run him through the rules of walking by themselves. Scratch your nose if you're stopping; pretend to tie your shoe if they were taking a break and run like the wind if you were being followed by somebody who wasn't Lionel. Easy as.

"Come ooonnnnnnnnnnnnnn!" Laura whinged, stepping back out of the shop and yanking his sleeve. "You have to help me pick which one I want."

Alex walked into _Smithy's Lolly Shop_ and almost lost his mind. Sabina was standing on the far side of the shop, browsing a shelf of rock candy. She hadn't noticed them walking in, but he was sure she could have heard it, what with Laura yelling and all.

"Let's look over here first!" Alex hissed, grabbing Laura's wrist and yanking her towards the other end of the shop.

"But I wanna look over there!" she squealed, frowning.

Alex looked over her shoulder and saw Sabina turning. He skilfully dove behind a chocolate display and covered her mouth with his hand. He quickly removed it when she decided to spit on his skin.

"Laura!" he yelped hoarsely, staring at his hand in shock.

"Alex!" Laura mimicked. She giggled as Alex wiped his hand on his school pants, crouched down and pretended to gag.

"What was that for?" he hissed, not kindly.

But Laura had already walked over to the chocolates and was staring at them in interest. Alex carefully peered through the gap between Laura's knees and the cardboard stand, watching out for Sabina. He didn't really want to speak to her. They hadn't been in contact since she left for America, almost a year ago. It just seemed so...different. He'd changed since she had gone, and he was hoping that she had too.

"Laura! Laura!" Alex whispered from down on the floor. "Laura!" She didn't move, instead watching the man behind the counter show another customer how a type of frog-shaped chocolate was made. "Laura!"

Still no reaction. Alex looked around for Sabina. It seemed she had left the shop. He sighed, about to call out for Laura a little louder.

"Alex?"

He froze. That was Sabina's voice. Alex turned his head slowly, hoping he was imagining it all. Standing about two feet away was Sabina. Her hair was a little lighter than the dark brown he could remember. Her freckles were a bit more prominent than the last time they came face to face, but other than that, she was still the same old Sabina. She was smiling down at him. The grin was mingled with a bit of confusion on what he was doing on the floor at a girl's feet.

"Alex?" she repeated.

"Hey, Sab. What are you doing here?"

She was about to answer when Laura snapped back to reality. "Hey, Alex, where'd you-"

It would later be looked back on as hilarious, but Laura toppling over him, crashing straight into a wall and ending up lying on top of Alex was not the type of distraction he was previously wishing for.

"Oh my goodness!" Sabina gushed, looking startled.

Alex looked around. Laura was firmly planted across his torso, looking on the verge of a laughing fit. He groaned. That was the last thing he needed – Laura making a scene of it.

"Get up, Laur," Alex said quietly, poking her in the side with his elbow.

She did as she was told, stumbling slightly as she tried to help him up too, only managing to tred on Sabina's feet as she did. Sabina grimaced.

"Sorry about that, Al. Didn't see you there!" Laura chirped as if nothing had happened.

"It's alright, Laur," Alex said, pulling himself up. He dusted his hands off on his trousers and looked around for any damage. Thankfully, nothing had come down with them. The shop worker was glaring at them, but Alex just ignored it.

"Who are you?" Laura asked rudely, staring at Sabina.

"Err..." Alex intervened. "Laura, this is Sabina. Sabina, this is Laura."

Laura beamed and stuck her hand out at Sabina in a rather frightening manner. "Hi! I'm Laura!"

Sabina smiled nervously and shook it. "Hey, Laura. I'm Sabina. I'm a friend of Alex's."

Laura nodded. "Same!"

Alex sighed inwardly and started backing away. When they continued talking he turned and grabbed the closest lolly. He walked over to the counter and payed for it.

"Just this?" the guy asked, obviously till angry about Alex and Laura creating a fuss.

Alex nodded. Once paid for, he slipped the packet into his pocket and walked back to the girls. It seemed that they were getting along okay. He wasn't sure why, but this worried him. They couldn't possibly start getting along. What if their friendship ruined the progress of the mission?

"Sorry to interrupt," Alex said loudly. "But, Laur, we have to get to school."

Laura stopped speaking and turned to face Alex. "Oh!" She turned to Sabina and shrugged. "Well, see ya!"

Sabina nodded and gave Laura a little wave. Alex didn't look back at Sabina as they left the shop. He wasn't sure what to say to her, so he decided he wouldn't say anything. They were already out in the daylight and heading towards the school gates when Sabina tapped Alex's shoulder. Laura didn't notice and kept walking, more immersed in then funny faces Lionel was making from the limo than what Alex was doing.

Alex turned. "Hey, Sabina."

"Hey yourself!" Sabina said angrily.

Alex was startled. "What's up?"

"Who is that?" she asked, pointing sideways at Laura who was making faces back at Lionel.

Alex thought quickly. Laura and the mission or Sabina's feelings? "Err...that's my girlfriend, Laura."

The mission had won. Bloody MI6.

Sabina fell into a state of shock. "Your – your – girl...girlfriend?"

Alex nodded and shot a glance at Laura, who had noticed Alex wasn't beside her and was heading back his way, Lionel parked stationary at the end of the road. He looked back at Sabina.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Alex asked bravely.

Sabina shook her head and walked the other way, almost running over a nearby poodle. Alex sighed and faced Laura. She was patiently waiting for him on a park bench, playing with her shoelaces.

"Come on," Alex said blankly.

She stood up obediently and walked beside him. Alex wasn't sure if telling Laura about his conversation with Sabina was a good thing or not. He was still pretty surprised with himself. Sabina had been a good friend of his for a while, but Laura had found her way into the top priority friend spot. He sighed to himself. If they ever came across Sabina again, he would have some explaining to do.

They continued the rest of the way to the school crossing in silence. Laura pressed the pedestrian button and slipped her hand into his. It was if Laura knew something about Alex and Sabina that not even Alex himself could understand. The little green man flashed up and Laura pulled him across the road, double checking the cars had stopped.

There were other school children everywhere on the other side of the road. As Alex and Laura passed, still holding hands, whispers immediately started between the groups. The two of them kept walking into the school grounds until they reached Indy.

"Hey guys!" she chirped, seemingly thankful for somebody to talk to. Laura and Alex both greeted her before they all heard the bell. "Made it just in time!" she said as they made their way to English, the first class of the day.

Alex nodded. "Yeah, got distracted..."

* * *

School was a complete bore, right up until lunch time. Rumours had been going around that Laura and Alex were dating, and all Alex did was boost them. He could remember that for Josephine and Joseph to get jealous, there had to be something to be jealous _of_. Indy spent the whole day shooting questioning looks at Laura and Alex. And occasionally one that made it seem like they were about to jump up and start doing some kind of Irish jig. 

"Alex," Indy said as they were being let out for lunch. "Can I speak to you for a minute?"

He nodded and told Tom and Laura to meet them at the canteen in five minutes. "What's up?" he asked as Indy pulled him away from the rest of the crowd.

"Well, I was just wondering...are you and Laura _really_ going out?"

Alex took a deep breath. "Yes, we are."

Indy nodded thoughtfully. "Okay. I just wasn't sure if I should be stopping the rumours or not."

Alex smiled as her. "Well, thanks for the concern."

Indy smiled back. "You're welcome."

They caught up with Tom and Laura quickly and all sat down to eat. They found a little table together and pulled out their lunches. Alex listened in as Indy, Laura and Tom all had a heated argument about who was going to make it into the school football team. Of course, Indy and Laura didn't know much because they were both new.

"Alex what do you think?"

Alex stared at Tom, who had asked the question. Was it too rude to ask what they were talking about? He shrugged. "I dunno."

Tom nodded sadly. "It never really was his strong point," Tom told the girls, causing them to laugh.

Alex frowned. "Hey, Tom, where are Colin and what's-his-face?"

The other boy shrugged. "No idea. I think Colin is off with that Jamal guy."

Alex nodded. Jamal Siles was a pretty cool guy. He had dark brown hair – the tips dyed a bright red colour – and jade eyes. Alex hadn't talked to him much, but they got along well, regardless. He was good at sport and school (mainly because he was forever reading and bumping into people).

"Oh, yeah."

Alex went back to his meal, looking around. He spotted Josephine sitting by herself, texting on her phone. He watched as she frowned and threw her phone down on the table. She fumed silently for a few moments before pulling an apple out of her school bag. Without really knowing what he was doing, Alex stood up and walked over to her.

"What do you want?" she growled as he sat down.

He shrugged coolly. "Nothin'. Just thought you might be lonely."

Her anger died. "My bloody brother stole all my friends."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," she said agitatedly. "That Joseph has gone and wooed all my friends, and they are all off somewhere, taking it in turns to snog each other's brains out!"

Alex frowned. "Yuck..." He was truly disgusted.

She sighed. "I know. So, now I'm friendless."

Alex quickly thought of something to say. "You can come hang with my friends if you want."

She looked up and took a big bite out of her apple. "Really?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure Indy and Laura will be good company. If not, Tom and I should be entertaining enough."

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Alex stood up again. "Well, whenever you feel like it, you can join us."

She stood up too. "Would now be a good time?"

He turned to face her. She gave him a pleading look. "Yeah...I guess."

"Great!" she beamed, picking up her bag. She detangled herself from the table and started marching over to the table Alex was at before.

* * *

"I can't believe you invited her over here!" Tom hissed at Alex. The taller boy had made a polite excuse to drag Alex away from the table, and was now glaring the life out of him. 

"I didn't know it would be a problem!" Alex insisted.

"Yeah, well, you thought wrong!"

"Hey! What's your problem with her anyway?"

"What's my problem? WHAT'S MY PROBLEM? I'll tell you what my problem is!"

Alex waited, but it seemed Tom was incapable of talking right at that moment. "You don't really have a good reason do you?" Alex asked after a few moments of silence.

Tom glared at him. "My reason is private." He folded his arms.

"Right..." Alex said amusedly. "Well, when you care to tell, I'll be right over there!"

Alex walked back over to the table, leaving Tom by himself.

* * *

"I'm tired!" Laura whined, dawdling on her way out of the school. "I'm so tired, I should be dead!" 

Alex sighed. "Well, if you are that tired, then why aren't you on the floor?"

Laura dropped down onto the ground and played dead.

Alex chuckled. "Come on, Laur. Get up!"

She didn't move.

Alex stuck his hands in his pockets. He knew that Laura wouldn't get up without a good reason. He was on the verge of leaving her there when he felt plastic. "I'll give you a lolly!"

Within seconds, Laura was standing up straight, a smile on her face and her hand out. Alex pulled the packet out of his pocket and ripped the top off with his teeth. The lollies were a bit like skittles, but not quite the same.

"I want a green one!" Laura demanded.

Alex groaned and poured a handful out into his palm. Laura watched as he put the packet back into his pocket and sorted them out in his left hand. He handed her four green ones and threw the rest into his mouth.

"Hey! You got more than me!"

"So?" Alex said through a mouthful of sugar. "You wanted green ones; I wanted all the other colours!"

Laura glared playfully and continued walking towards the limo, parked in the bus stop. Once they reached the car, they saw Lionel busy talking to the crowd. As they got closer, they noticed they were talking about cars.

"Does it have a fridge?" an elder student asked.

Lionel nodded. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have passengers to attend to."

"Hey, Lionel!" Alex and Laura greeted smiling at him.

"Hey, you two." He opened the back door. "Hop in. We are going to the hospital."

* * *

**A/N:** It sucked. Don't rub it in, okay? I added 20 extra words. I'm sick. Blergh. Expect a longer chapter next week. 

**This week's question:** What colour does this story remind you of?

**My answer:** Mission Improbable reminds me of a blue-green colour.

Answers get 20 words!

Love you all!

RG

xox

P.S. What happened to all those lovely people who were going to help me edit the first 10 chapters?


	20. Hospitals and Hitmen

**THREE WORDS: I'M **_**SO**_** SORRY.

* * *

**

Everything happened quickly. One second they were heading to the limo and the next, total dizziness. A girl nearby screamed but he didn't have time to turn and see what was going on before Alex felt himself hit the ground and completely blacked out.

* * *

Alex could feel something underneath him. It wasn't hard, but it still made his back ache. He slowly moved his arms and legs. They felt like they weighed a tonne each. With his eyes still shut tightly, he tilted his head experimentally to the right and then to the left. No good.

_Shit._

It hurt. He carefully, and reluctantly, opened his eyes. Blinding white light burnt into the back of his head. He blinked a few times and the room came into focus. He was staring straight up into the ceiling. Alex looked around himself. Directly in front of him was a green-painted door with the number 214 carefully printed with gold stickers across its glass window. It was open and Alex could see into the hallway which was bustling with white-clad figures. He looked to his left and found a large window that looked out into a courtyard with identical, plain square windows facing in from all angles.

He looked to his right. There was another bed next to his but it was perfectly made and empty. Between these two beds was a range of machines making slow beeping noises and two ordinary-looking, plastic chairs. The people sitting in the chairs drew his attention. Alex recognised them both as Snake and Wolf. Snake had his head, arms and legs all bandaged. They were both fast asleep, softly snoring.

"Oh, you awake, Mister Rider?"

Alex turned to face a tired-eyed woman walk into the room with a thick manila folder. She had thick grey glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, her faded blonde hair was twisted up in a knot on the top of her head and she had red lipstick all over her straight teeth. She smiled kindly at Alex and checked a chart that was sitting out of view behind his head.

"Sorry, but where am I?" he enquired croakily. His throat was dry and his stomach growled hungrily as he spoke.

The woman looked down at him in surprise. Her name tag was now close enough to read. It said 'Sandra Brown'. "You are in the Royal St James Medical Hospital for Intelligent Forces. I thought somebody would have told you by now."

Alex fidgeted in his bed. There really was something hideously uncomfortable behind his back. "No, I only just woke up."

Sandra gasped. "Oh, well I better go get Doctor Kane. Stay right here." She bustled back out the door and away to the right.

"_What else am I gonna do?_" he muttered to himself and sat up once she was out of sight. His back was stiff, but he clenched his teeth and stood up. His legs threatened to give way under him but they held long enough for him to grab hold of a nearby machine until he steadied himself. Alex looked back down at his bed. But there was nothing there. He frowned.

"Mister Rider, you should remain lying down." Another adult walked in with Sandra close behind him. The man was reasonably tall at six foot one and had a close-cut crop of black hair. Alex sat down on the side of his bed and awaited farther instruction. "Good afternoon, Mister Rider. My name is Doctor Kane and I'll be replacing Doctor Bristow. I'm sure you've met him before...?"

Alex frowned before shaking his head. "No. Never."

The worry in both of the adult's eyes sent a bucket load of panic through Alex's insides. Doctor Kane quickly flipped through the manila folder and found what he was looking for.

"Oh. My. God."

* * *

Joseph powered on. His muscles were stinging and he felt like he was going to throw up, but he didn't rest. He continued lifting the weights off the floor, above his head and then back down to the ground. Joseph knew that he shouldn't have been over-working himself. But revenge was on his mind.

He stopped for a break and sat down on a nearby fitness bike. He was in his Dad's gym in the basement of his massive house. Joseph had been there since day break and lunch time was quickly approaching. He took a deep, steady breath and stared at a blown-up picture of a boy around his age that had been stuck to the wall.

"I'm going to get you, Rider," he told the picture. "I'm going to get you and your girl and there is nothing you can do about it."

* * *

Laura moaned. The light was too bright. She buried her head under her pillow and kept her eyes clamped shut. It was just another boring day at Royal St James Medical Hospital for Intelligent Forces. At first, she had thought it would be super fun - spies and other intelligences barely corridors away. What she hadn't counted on was the security. Apparently, Laura wasn't allowed out of her room for 'health' reasons.

She shifted on her bed. There was a very loud, whirling machine connected to her chest via four thick red wires. Laura opened her eyes groggily and watched as her heart beat was displayed on the screen of the monitor. It was almost therapeutic. Of course, Laura didn't see it that way. She just saw it as a big nuisance.

"Laura, honey? Are you awake?"

Laura sat up slowly and carefully avoided looking in the mirror. She stared around the room. It wasn't much of a room, really. More like a giant glass box in which she wasn't allowed to leave. She stared out of the glass and to her left. Jasmine was sitting on a small, two-seater lounge looking very tired. Her hair was falling out of its pony and there were dark circles forming under her eyes.

Laura nodded and walked up to the speaker box. "Morning, Jassie." She frowned when Jasmine came closer to the screen. "You should really get some sleep. You look exhausted."

Jasmine nodded. "Yeah, I think I might. I'll go see how Alex is going. Take care." She yawned before leaving the separate room with a tired drag.

Laura sighed and sunk back down onto her bed. It was going to be another long, boring day.

* * *

Josephine was lying on her stomach on her oversized mattress. Her room glowed lilac all around her. Her phone was in her hand and she was impatiently waiting for it to ring. After a few more moments of waiting, she flipped her phone open and dialled. She put the phone to her ear and waited for somebody to pick up.

"_Hello?"_

"Yes, hi," Josephine said. "Is Madison there, please?"

"_Sure, who's speaking?"_

"It's Josie."

"_Won't be a moment."_

Josephine didn't wait for Madison to finish saying hello. "Why didn't you call me? I've been waiting for at least four minutes!" she shrieked into the mouthpiece. "Am I, like, not your friend anymore?"

"_Sorry, I was talking to that new Indy girl."_

Josephine sighed. "I thought we weren't going to make new friends apart from that Alex guy, remember?"

"_B-but," Madison stuttered. "Phoebe has a plan! A really good one!"_

Josephine tilted her head to the side. "I'm listening..."

* * *

Madison Cainbridge was a tall girl at 5 foot, 6 inches. She had long brown hair which she always wore in a group of six or so bunches with as many clips and accessories as she could fit. She was sitting outside her small house in Chelsea when her friend Phoebe McCoy phoned. Her mother passed the phone out through the window and down to her daughter on the grass.

"Hello?" Madison greeted.

"_Hey, Maddie, it's me, Phoebe. Listen, I have big news!"

* * *

_

Indy Forest was at the kitchen table, silently doing her homework while her parents watched a sitcom in the room down the hall. She sighed and stared vacantly out the window. She thought about calling Laura or Alex, just so she could get out of the house for a change. Indy had almost made up her mind when the old phone on the counter rang and shook her out of her thoughts.

"Hello?"

"_Hi, is that Indy?"_ a loud voice enquired though the earpiece.

"Yes. Who's this?"

The voice laughed_. "Oh, right, sorry. I'm Madison Cainbridge, from Brookland School. You probably don't know me, but I wanted to call and say hi."_

"How did you get this number?" Indy asked suspiciously.

"_Oh, I can't remember. But what do you say you come meet me and some friends down at the movies to see that big new film...what's it called? I can't remember. Anyways, what do you say?"_

Indy shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

* * *

Jasmine slowly walked towards the apartment block. She had driven Wolf's truck back from the apartment and had parked around the corner. She stepped up into the building and looked around. The doorman was missing.

"Hah," she breathed. "_Weird_."

Jasmine stepped into the stairwell and immediately noticed a dark red mark smeared across the third step. Her breathing started getting faster as she climbed higher and higher and the red stains became more frequent.

Until it immediately stopped with a giant puddle on level seven – her level.

* * *

The man ran. He wasn't sure where he was going, exactly, but he needed to get away. His pursuers were close behind him. They were much, much faster and he knew that if he didn't do something real fast; he wouldn't be waking up tomorrow morning. It was about sunrise, but people were already flooding around the main roads.

If only he could get that far...

The man came to a sudden halt. He was dead before he hit the ground.

* * *

Wolf was dreaming.

_He was running down a long passageway. On his left was a door - door 23. _

_He kept running. _

_Every thirty metres, another door appeared. They were all numbered 23. Wolf kept going until he noticed something different about the door. This time, it had a red mark on it. _

_He stopped in front of the door and reached out to open it._

"Oi, Wolf, mate. Wake up!"

Wolf opened his eyes and came face-to-face with Snake, a friend of his from the SAS K-Unit. Snake had dark, blank eyes and a roughly shaven chin. He was still covered in casts and slings.

"Wha'?" Wolf snorted, sitting up straight in his chair. He noticed the empty bed in front of him. "Whoa, where's Alex gotten to now?"

Snake shrugged. "No idea. Come on, let's find out."

* * *

Sabina wandered around the shops looking for nothing in particular. She wanted some new clothes that would suit London more than America. But she was definitely not in the right mood for shopping. Her mind was preoccupied with more important things than fashion. Like Alex Rider. She hadn't seen him at all since she'd arrived back in London.

Well, she knew he was always away. She knew that he was a spy and that he would be sent all over the world, if he was needed. But something in her head told her not to bother looking for him, just in case something terrible had happened. Although, there was something in her heart that said to go for it.

She was confused.

Sabina sat down at a nearby table and sighed.

"Rider," she said to herself. "What _have_ you done to me?"

* * *

Jack Starbright shifted in her bed. It was dark outside and getting closer and closer to the early hours of the morning. But she couldn't sleep. She was at her father's house in her old bedroom. Pink flowers and teddy bears scattered the walls. Jack gave up trying to get comfortable and sat up against her bed head. She ran through the conversation she had had only a few days ago.

Alex was in hospital and she wasn't there for him. She'd been told he was out cold and probably wouldn't notice she was gone, but she still felt guilty not being there. MI6 wouldn't tell her why he was hospitalised in the first place, but she had managed to get a hold of his caregiver and get as much information as she could.

He'd been walking out of his school when Alex and a girl with him had been...

_No_, she told herself. _Don't even think about it.

* * *

_

The two figures walked up to the man sprawled across the concrete. The man to the left – the shorter one – kicked the dead body in the ribs. No movement. He sent a single, bone-shilling nod to the figure opposite.

Job completed.

* * *

**AN: Sorry for the lateness. You would be able to comprehend how guilty I feel and I hope this makes up for it.**


End file.
